Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/457/

Developing the tray used in determining HLA types for tissue typing

The tray itself, the plastic, is made by many companies today because the university did not patent it. And so, it’s free for anybody to make. Now, what goes inside that tray, the reagents, this is the important thing. In other words, what kind of reagent do you put inside for determining the HLA1 types.

And when we started to sell our trays, the NIH, National Institutes of Health, continued to the program that they shut down at UCLA, “Give me these trays free to other transplant centers.” And after about 5 years of competition, they lost. They quit giving it out because people didn’t want the free trays. And the reason it comes out that way is that what’s in the tray is very important.

And this is the, you might say, the know-how that we had developed at UCLA, that continues on in One Lambda. So, when you say, I don’t know if it’s the gold standard, but at least we try to stay ahead of competition, try to make the best tray possible. And that’s continued on today.

1. HLA is the acronym for human leukocyte antigen, a genetic maker found on cells of the body that determine white blood cell types. The HLA system is used to assess tissue compatibility for organ transplantation and platelet transfusion. There are over ten thousand HLA types.


medicine

Date: February 10, 2004

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Gwenn M. Jensen

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum.

Interviewee Bio

Paul Terasaki, born in 1929, is a UCLA Medical Professor Emeritus and a pioneer in tissue transfer research who continues to speak globally on tissue typing and organ transplantation. In 1991 he edited a volume entitled History of Transplantation: Thirty-five Recollections.

He and his wife Hisako, a renowned painter, take a strong interest in U.S.-Japan relations and the affairs of the Japanese American community. Together they established an endowment at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center to fund fellowships for UCLA graduate students from Japan pursuing research on the historical and contemporary experiences and issues of the Japanese American population. Additionally, a Paul I. Terasaki Endowed Chair in U.S.-Japan Relations supports a distinguished teaching program designed to bring experts in the field of Japanese studies and U.S.-Japan relations to UCLA. (February 10, 2004)

Inahara,Toshio

Inahara shunt

(b. 1921) Vascular surgeon

Mamiya,Richard

Treating international and VIP patients

(b.1925) Sansei, cardiovascular surgeon.

Mamiya,Richard

Innovation in heart surgery

(b.1925) Sansei, cardiovascular surgeon.

Mamiya,Richard

Taking pride in children’s surgery

(b.1925) Sansei, cardiovascular surgeon.

Mamiya,Richard

Former child patient turned professional volleyball player

(b.1925) Sansei, cardiovascular surgeon.

Mamiya,Richard

Starting a medical program in Hawai‘i

(b.1925) Sansei, cardiovascular surgeon.

Shigekawa, Sakaye

Getting good guidance

(1913-2013) Doctor specializing in obstetrics in Southern California

Shigekawa, Sakaye

Joining the hospital unit in Santa Anita Race Track

(1913-2013) Doctor specializing in obstetrics in Southern California

Shigekawa, Sakaye

Never married

(1913-2013) Doctor specializing in obstetrics in Southern California

Kaji,Frances Midori Tashiro

Father became trilingual to practice medicine

(1928–2016) Daughter of an Issei doctor 

Kaji,Frances Midori Tashiro

Typical day for the doctors

(1928–2016) Daughter of an Issei doctor 

Kaji,Frances Midori Tashiro

Discrimination for Nisei doctors

(1928–2016) Daughter of an Issei doctor 

Kaji,Frances Midori Tashiro

Recalls seeing her father off on a business trip with his surgery nurse

(1928–2016) Daughter of an Issei doctor