The Nephrology Oral History project, started in 2007, now has 17 edited interviews with recordings that highlight the courage and persistence of the people working to improve dialysis treatment over the past six decades.

The project’s first interview is with Dr. Robert Gutman, who began his nephrology career working in Dr. Scribner’s program in Seattle. Recollections by Eli Friedman highlight the amazing transformation from chronic kidney disease as a fatal illness to a treatable disease. Dr. Richard Hamburger gives a personal account of the beginning of CMS regulations and dialysis oversight that form the basis of the dialysis regulatory environment today.

In 2008 and 2009, nephrology pioneers Chris Blagg and Jack Cole participated in audio interviews. In his recording, Dr. Blagg recalls early outpatient dialysis at the Seattle Artificial Kidney Center, mixing dialysate in Sweden Freezer tanks, and the early commitment to home dialysis by the Seattle program. Jack Cole tells personal stories about Belding Scribner, making Scribner shunts at the bedside, and setting up Skeggs-Leonard and Kiil dialyzers.

The Nephrology Oral History project is made possible through the generous gift of time from the interviewees and by the sponsors who supported the website development. Visit the Voice Expeditions website at www.voiceexpeditions.com to listen to the voices of dialysis pioneer nephrologists, nurses, and patients as they describe early dialysis and kidney disease experiences.

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