Jean Dausset (1916-2009)

摘要

Jean Dausset, who died in Majorca, Spain, on 6 June 2009, aged 92, will always be remembered for the discovery of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tissue system, one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the twentieth century. The HLA system - a collection of genes that encode polymorphic molecules expressed on the surface of cells - determines the biological identity of an individual's cells and tissues. Because recognition of HLA molecules by the immune system allows it to distinguish self cells from foreign cells, this discovery laid the foundations for successful organ transplantation. Dausset not only pioneered the scientific and medical research into HLA, but also embraced and promoted the sociological and philosophical impacts of this finding.