History of dialysis and transplantation

 The history of Dialysis and Kidney Transplantation in Edinburgh

 

Structure of these pages: click on any of the links on the timeline below to go directly to information on that topic. There are also pages on specific areas listed below. Text in black concerns worldwide developments.

Text in red concerns Edinburgh

 

Haemodialysis Peritoneal Dialysis Kidney Transplantation
1913 First attempted human haemodialysis 1923 First human peritoneal dialysis
1943 First effective haemodialysis 1933 First human kidney transplant
1946 Haemodialysis used in UK (but only briefly; reintroduced 1956) 1946 Peritoneal dialysis used for acute renal failure
1950s Dietary management of acute renal failure 1954 First successful renal transplant in Boston
1959 Haemodialysis in Edinburgh for patients with acute renal failure 1959 First successful non-identical twin transplant
1960 Haemodialysis began in Seattle for patients with chronic renal failure 1960 First kidney transplant in UK (at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh)
1961 Second transplant
1962 Haemodialysis in Edinburgh for patients with chronic renal failure 1962 Intermittent peritoneal dialysis for patients with acute renal failure 1962 Third kidney transplant at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
1967 Home haemodialysis
1968 Opening of the Nuffield Transplant Surgery Unit
1969 New Medical Renal Unit building
1969 Hepatitis outbreak in Edinburgh
1976 Aluminium toxicity in Edinburgh
1979 Poisoning by Cortinarius mushrooms
1980s Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) for patients with chronic failure
1995 Opening of the Transplant Unit at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh

These pages covering the history of nephrology and transplantation in Edinburgh are largely the product of a year 4 medical student project by Dichelle Wong.