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A Mythological Foundation

Since ancient times, mythology has included tales of creatures made of an amalgamation of others, transferring body parts and skin.

"And so, they quickly fetched the limb of the Moor, and cut off the limb of the sick man and grafted the limb of the Moor into his place…And when he awoke, he did not sense any pain, so he placed his hand on the limb and discovered no injury, and then he took a candle to his leg and saw no harm"

~Jacobus da Varagine

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Ebers Papyrus, Britannica

Ebers Papyrus

The first written mention of transplant is attributed to the Ebers Papyrus, which is a scroll that includes an accurate description of the circulatory system, noting the existence of blood vessels throughout the body and the heart's function as centre of the blood supply. The Ebers papyrus was acquired by George Maurice Ebers, German Egyptologist and novelist, in 1873.

"These scrolls were used to pass down knowledge from generation to generation. They were likely kept on hand during a battle and used as a reference in daily life. Even with these remarkable scrolls, it's likely that beyond a certain level, medical knowledge was taught orally from master to student."

~ Veronica M Pagan (World Neurosurgery)

First Use of Bone Marrow Transplantation

"After World War II and the use of the atomic bomb, researchers tried to find ways to restore the bone marrow function in aplasia caused by radiation exposure. In the 1950s, it was proven in a mouse model that marrow aplasia secondary to radiation can be overcome by syngeneic marrow graft. In 1956, Barnes and colleagues published their experiment on two groups of mice with acute leukemia."

~ Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal

A surgical team at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, led by Dr. Joseph Murray, performs the first kidney transplant in 1954. Brigham and Women's Hospital Archives

"Back in those days it was very common for people to say if a child has a very severe disease there's nothing that can be done about it. And the attitude amongst my colleagues here was, 'No. We should be trying new things. We should be doing things we can to cure these diseases.'"

~ Dr. John Kersey

"Most people left the field ... They felt that this couldn't ever be done."

~ Dr. E. Donnall Thomas

Woman Donating Blood to the Red Cross Blood Bank in New York City in 1943 during World War II, Time.com

Bone Marrow Transplants

Stem cells were first used for bone marrow transplants (BMTs), a procedure that was introduced as a treatment for cancer and genetic blood disorders. A stem cell transplant involves taking healthy stem cells from the blood or bone marrow of one person, usually a close family member or a genetic match, and transferring them to another person.

"Hopefully, through research, bone marrow transplants will continue to get easier and safer for patients, or we will find other treatments that are less risky.”

~ Dr. Mark Juckett