Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura — From Agony to Agonist

In the summer of 1950, two hematology fellows working at the Barnes Hospital in St. Louis — William J. Harrington and James W. Hollingsworth — hatched a plan to test their idea that the cause of the idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in a woman under their care was a factor in the blood that destroyed platelets. They decided that of the two fellows, the one whose blood type matched the patient's would receive 500 ml of her blood. In a flip of the genetic coin, Harrington matched. Within a few hours after receiving the woman's blood, Harrington's platelet count dropped . . .