R.R. Race

Robert Russell Race CBE ( born November 28, 1907 in Hull, † 15 April 1984) was a British blood specialist ( hematologist ).

Life and work

Race attended St. Paul's School in London and studied at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, University of London medicine with the conclusion of 1933. Thereafter, he was there in the laboratory of pathology and also in 1937 at the Galton Laboratory, University College London at Ronald Fisher, where he built for this blood type unit. During the Second World War, this worked in the Department of Pathology of the University of Cambridge in the production and typing of blood serum for transfusion. Immediately after the discovery of the rhesus factor in the U.S. in 1941 Race worked on their further education. In 1946 he became head of the blood unit on Lister Institute in London, which belonged to the Medical Research Council.

Race was with Ruth Sanger author of a standard work on human blood groups, which first appeared in 1950. With Sanger he discovered in his institute, among other things the end of 1961 the Xg blood group system. In 1973 he went as a director of the blood group unit in retirement ( and was succeeded by his wife, Ruth Sanger ), but remained scientifically active.

Since 1952 he was a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was married twice, his first wife since 1938 with Monica Rotten ( she died in 1955 ), with whom he had three daughters, his second wife in 1956 with Ruth Sanger.

In 1957 he was awarded with the Sanger Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award, in 1970 both received the Philip Levine Award and 1972 both received the Gairdner Foundation International Award. In 1970 he was CBE.

Writings

• With Ruth Sanger Blood Groups in Man, 6th edition, Oxford: Blackwell 1975 German translation The blood groups of man, Thieme 1958