Publisher's Synopsis
Early in his career, Robert Gwyn Macfarlane was a surgical dresser, and during that time he was allotted a small boy with a cut on his chin that would not stop bleeding. The boy was known to be from a family of "bleeders". Every method of haemostasis was tried without success and the boy was becoming seriously anaemic. It was decided to give the boy a blood transfusion - quite an event in the 1930s. Macfarlane noticed that as soon as the blood was given the bleeding stopped.;Macfarlane was both fascinated and horrified by this experience, and decided to try and find out how to stop bleeding in haemophilia. He tried all kinds of reputed remedies without success. He heard that some snake venoms had haemostatic abilities, and found that the Russell Viper venom was by far the most effective.;In collaboration with his associates, he was able to isolate and quantify the anti-haemophilic factor, now known as Factor VIII. Macfarlane calculated the amount of Factor VIII that would be needed to meet the requirements of haemophiliacs, and showed that it could be self supporting. But the Ministry ignored this and preferred to purchase the Factor VIII from America. It was soon discovered that the American Factor VIII was contaminated, first with the hepatitis virus and then with the AIDS virus. This tragedy distressed Macfarlane, and he encouraged the preparation of Factor VIII by genetic engineering and witnessed the successful preparation of recombinant Factor VIII.;Macfalane was deeply involved in the pathophysiology of blood coagulation. He introduced the Cascade Hypothesis of Blood Coagulation. He also recognized that, apart from the extrinsic system of blood coagulation, there was a powerful intrinsic one, initiated with the release of blood into tissue.;In addition to his ability as a research worker and teacher, he was a fine writer. Macfarlane, in collaboration with his colleague, Dr Biggs, wrote a textbook, "Blood Coagulation and its Disorders", which is still used as a reference work. On his retirement he wrote biographies of Lord Florey and Alexander Fleming. In addition to the account of the development of his scientific work, his writings also revealed the many facets of his enthusiasm and pioneering activities that were to inspire research workers in biological fields throughout the world.
