The Early Years of Chronic Dialysis: The Seattle Contribution

Long-term hemodialysis for chronic renal failure first became possible with development of the Teflon shunt by Belding Scribner and coworkers at the University of Washington, Seattle, in 1960. Over the next 4 years, many of the advances in dialysis occurred in Seattle. These included recognition and treatment of complications such as malignant hypertension, gouty episodes due to uric acid accumulation, subcutaneous calcification, anemia, iron overload, and peripheral neuropathy. Technical advances included improving the shunt, and in collaboration with Professor A.L. Babb, development of a proportioning system to make dialysate from concentrate and water and the first automated home hemodialysis machine. Dr. Boen and Dr. Tenckhoff developed automated peritoneal dialysis equipment and peritoneal access devices. The world's first outpatient dialysis center, the Seattle Artificial Kidney Center, was established in 1962, and used an anonymous lay committee to select from medically suitable patients those to be treated by the center. This triage was an important step in the development of biomedical ethics, and in 1964, Scribner's presidential address to the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs discussed the problems of patient selection, termination of treatment, patient suicide, death with dignity, and selection for transplantation.