October 19th
Born 19 Oct 1916.
French hematologist and immunologist whose studies of the genetic basis of the immunological reaction earned him a share (with George Snell and Baruj Benacerraf) of the 1980 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. In 1952, he discovered that people who receive repeated blood transfusions can develop antibodies to the blood. Dausset correctly hypothesized that a specific genetic variation among people accounted for the different levels of reaction. This discovery led to the use of simple blood tests to determine whether a prospective donor and patient are a good match for an organ transplant. Since that time, he has retained a constant interest in the immunogenetics of blood cells.
