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Show Inventor of Artificial Kidney Speaks were handicapped in those areas. Give Kidneys To Science Dr. Kolff pleaded with his audience audi-ence to sign a form which would give their kidney to science to aid in kidney transplant experiments after death. He jokingly argued that when George Lincoln Rockwell Rock-well was murdered, his kidneys unfortunately went to the grave with him. "When Rockwell kept . his kidneys, he robbed the American Ameri-can people of the only good things he could have ever given them." In closing, Dr. Koff voi , hope that by 1970 SCiPl d h find a method habihtate all patients wfc ney infections by means o to transplant and artificial Dr. Willem J. Kolff, inventor of the first successful artificial kidney, has produced and manufactured manu-factured artificial kidneys from items such as washing achines and rocket nose cones. Speaking at the Thursday Lecture Lec-ture last week, Dr. Kolff said although many artificial kidneys cost as much as $8,000 to make and operate, relatively successful homemade models can be constructed con-structed very economically. "The Utah Job Corps makes the artificial arti-ficial kidney for as little as seven dollars each," Dr. Kolff related. 41,000 Develop Kidney Disease The Dutch born and educated University professor of surgery added, 41,000 people develop kidney kid-ney disease each year in the United States alone and, although 1,000 of these recover, 40,000 die mainly because they don't seek treatment. Dr. Kolff pointed out there is a group of committees organized specifically to give free treatment to those seriously in need. The Medical Committee initially in-itially screens prospective patients for competence and turns them over to representatives of the Lay Committee who "ask the patient pa-tient questions about his social and ethical background to deter-ine deter-ine whether he is worth the cost of treatment," explained Dr. Kolff. "It is not difficult to have artificial arti-ficial kidney treatment in the home," stated Dr. Kolff. "The treatment is not as unpleasant an experience as one would normally suspect." Dr. Kolff supplemented his lecture lec-ture with slides of former patients. pa-tients. In brief biographies, Dr. Kolff related how successful he has been with his artificial device. Most patients died within a few years after treatment, many of other ailment. Some, Dr. Kolff conceded, died as a result of kidney kid-ney infection, despite constant use of the artificial kidney. Dr. Kolff pointed out, "although many who use the artificial kidney die, not as many die as would have without with-out use of the device." Longer Life Expectancy The artificial kidney, which can serve two people at once, also brings about a longer life expectancy, ex-pectancy, said Dr. Kolff. In comparing com-paring the artificial kidney with the kidney transplant, Dr. Kolff pointed out that one out of five people with a kidney transplant died within three months of the however, while those people with the transplants had a shorter life expectancy, they had the added benefit of an unrestricted diet, unlimited un-limited athletic activities and more general mental well-being, whereas artificial kidney patients |