Letter to the Editor

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To the Editor:

I read with interest the article by R.G. Strauss on Elmer L. DeGowin and “Transfusion in War and Peace.”¹ In a letter to his son, Dr DeGowin alludes to “Robertson” (presumably O.H. Robertson) joining “the British Army in France” in 1915. In fact, Oswald Robertson left for France in May of 1917, was attached to the British Third Army,² and subsequently developed his practice of using anticoagulated group O blood.

Another Robertson, the Canadian L. Bruce Robertson from Toronto, served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps, arriving in France in September 1915, and also undertook a tour of duty in 1916 with the British Army. He was using blood transfusion by October 1915³ and published the first of several articles on transfusion in war surgery in 1916.⁴

It appears that the now well-recognized confusion engendered by the 2 pioneers with the same surname extended to Dr DeGowin's memory of events.

It might also be noted that the Montreal surgeon and later Professor of Surgery at McGill University, Edward Archibald, was using citrated blood in war surgery in 1916.⁵

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References 

1. Strauss RG, Elmer L, DeGowin MD. Blood transfusions in war and peace. Transfus Med Rev. 2006;20:165–168
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2. Hess JR, Schmidt PJ. The first blood banker: Oswald Hope Robertson. Transfusion. 2000;40:110–113
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3. Pinkerton PH. Canada's transfusion medicine pioneer: Lawrence Bruce Robertson. Transfusion. 2001;41:283–286
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4. Robertson LB. The transfusion of whole blood: A suggestion for its more frequent employment in war surgery. BMJ. 1916;2:38–40
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5. Archibald E. A note upon the employment of blood transfusion in war surgery. Lancet. 1916;2:429–431
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