De man die miljoenen levens redde. Dokter Willem Kolff 1911-2009

by Herman Broers

Life and works of dr. Willem Kolff, inventor of artificial organs. Spent his working life in Kampen (The Netherlands) and from of 1950 in the USA.

Herziene en aangevulde editie

358 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Luca Borghi]

A great biography of the "Father of Artificial Organs", Dutch physician Willem Kolff. It can be a great source of inspiration especially for medical students interested in the ever-growing technological side of their profession, and even more for students of biomedical engineering.

[Wilbert]

Since I live in Kampen, in a street named the "Dr. Kolfflaan", I thought this book a must-read. He was quite a man, this dr. Willem Kolff. Not only because he invented the artificial kidney (opening the way for kidney dialasis) and the artificial heart - but also because he rescued many Dutch men during WW II who were sent to forced labour camps in Germany and passed Kampen, where Kolff was, at the time, a hospital doctor.
Kolff was not only a doctor, but also a pioneer and entrepreneur 'in heart and kidneys' (as we say in Dutch, meaning 'all the way through'). Still, not many people know of him in the Netherlands (or even in Kampen). Still, I hope that this book will contribute to his story being known. Not that he didn't have any flaws (he did, as we all do), but because his story shows what good can be done in medicine for the benefits of so many people, if one diligently devotes time and effort combined with intelligence and courage to one's tasks at hand.
A truely amazing story. And Herman Broers does a fine job telling it.

[Devin]

This book shows what an unbeleivable life Willem Kolff lived. The author is not a native english speaker and that comes through in the writing. Also, it is his first book so there are reasonably some areas to improve. I wanted more detailed descriptions of events to do justice to the unbelievable events that were taking place. Instead you sometimes have to read between the lines to understand just how remarkable the subject matter is. Overall Kolff's experiences and the monumentous work he did to improve human life definately make this book worth reading.