Guest Editor's Introduction: The introduction of the NCI/IBM 2990 Blood Cell Separator made possible the processing of plasma and white cells by uninterrupted whole blood flow through a centrifugal apparatus. The story of the development of the separator relates the involvement of G.T. Judson whose son suffered from leukemia. Judson, a research engineer with IBM, and Freireich at the National Cancer Institute designed and fabricated a prototype device that would therapeutically remove WBCs. The initial emphasis on WBC removal later shifted to plasma removal. This paper reprinted here with permission was printed in Nature vol. 217, page 816–818 (1968), and describes the basic design and operational details of the device.
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