Noteworthy Then, Influential Forever by Hua

Noteworthy Then, Influential Forever by Hua - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

Dr. Willem J. Kolff invented the first artificial kidney, built the first artificial heart, and developed a membrane oxygenator. His artificial kidney became the modern dialysis machine for cleansing the blood of people whose kidneys have failed, his artificial heart used for patients awaiting transplants, and his membrane oxygenator is still used in heart-lung machines during open-heart surgery. All told, his medical inventions have saved or extended countless lives. The father of artificial organs, Dr. Kolff paved the way for biomedical engineers to build all sorts of artificial organs for keeping patients alive.
As a future biomedical engineer, I would be amazed to meet the legendary Dr. Willem J. Kolff. There are many puzzling questions I would love to ask him, but there is one question that might help piece my thoughts about him. “Why do you love biomedical engineering so much?” Coming from the person who created this field from his own passion, Dr. Willem J. Kolff can definitely give me true insight about his love of biomedical engineering. Creativity. I can only assume he might say somewhere or something about it. He did create the first artificial kidney with sausage casings, a wooden drum, and even orange juice cans. Dr. Kolff found that when he agitated the sausage casings filled with blood and urea in a bath of salt water, the small molecules of urea, or the waste, would pass out of the blood. It was an ingenious contraption that took out impurities from patients with kidney failure, but not as ingenious as his mind. Later, Dr. Kolff developed an artificial heart and a membrane oxygenator with the same imagination. To me, I believe the unlimited creativity in the field of biomedical engineering attracted the young minds of Dr. Kolff and me. Another factor he might say would be to never give up. Inventions in biomedical engineering seem far-fetched and unrealistic when we first think about it. How could we create a new hand for an amputee or fabricate a complex and working organ for the body? However, reality did not stop Dr. Kolff from achieving his unforgettable dreams. With every failure, it did not hinder his progress, but instead helped revolutionized his artificial organs. In 1957, his artificial heart kept a dog alive for 90 minutes. After many testing and frustration, then in 1982, his artificial heart kept a human alive for 112 days. For me, it was unbelievable that he spent 25 years of determination and perseverance to help patients to live longer. His service to our society, through his creativity and belief of dedication, molded the future of biomedical engineering.
Although I do not know what Dr. Willem J. Kolff might say to me in a conversation, I do know his contributions to our world. The beauty of his creations will always have an everlasting effect on millions of people. As I plan on majoring in a field Dr. Kolff had pioneered, I want to develop my own joyful experience. Whether it is tissue engineering or biomedical imaging and diagnostics, I desire to give my personal gift to this world.