From math major to transplant pioneer: An interview with William Harmon, MD

BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL VECTOR |  Nancy Fliesler

William Harmon, MD, c. 1996

William Harmon, MD, a pioneer in pediatric dialysis and kidney transplantation, passed away on May 29, 2016 after 45 years at Boston Children’s Hospital. He was 72 years old. Starting as an intern in 1971, the year the hospital performed its first kidney transplant, he worked his way up to Nephrologist-in-Chief, a position he held for 25 years.

Harmon was passionate about caring for children with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), pioneering techniques and devices to adapt hemodialysis to infants and young children. He helped get NIH support for child-specific transplant research and led multiple clinical trials of treatment protocols to help children not only tolerate their transplants, but thrive. He also worked to ensure that government guidelines and legislation on ESRD and kidney transplant gave priority to children.

Harmon was the first chair of the pediatric committee of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)and the first pediatrician to chair the New England Organ Bank’s Board of Directors. He was passionate about teaching, training more than 65 pediatric nephrology fellows.

Below are lightly edited excerpts from interviews with Harmon, most recently in 2014. Continue reading

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