Dialysis pioneer Scribner dies at 82

By JOYCE THOMAS

School of Medicine alumnus Belding H. Scribner, MD, class of 1945, died June 19 in Seattle at the age of 82 after falling into the water from the deck of his houseboat and drowning.

Scribner, professor emeritus at the University of Washington, was the inventor of the Scribner shunt, a device that made long-term kidney dialysis possible and saved the lives of millions of patients worldwide.

He shared the 2002 Lasker Award for Medical Research in the area of clinical research with Willem J. Kolff, MD, PhD, for the development of renal hemodialysis, which changed kidney failure from a fatal to a treatable disease. He also helped create the world’s first community dialysis unit.

Scribner was a devoted physician and researcher who sought the best treatment for each patient individually. "He touched all of our lives — both patients and people who trained and worked with him alike. He could come up with simple solutions to complex problems," said Jeffry Young, MD, who worked with Scribner in the late 1970s and early 1980s at the University of Washington and is now a nephrologist at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

"He related to everyone on a personal level. He created a strong bond with everyone he knew and who worked with him and he continued to be a part of your life," added Young.

Despite suffering from heart disease and osteoporosis, Scribner stayed connected to medicine and research through his computer. He also enjoyed building remote-controlled model boats and planes, learning about and collecting wines and canoeing to work at the University of Washington, where he led the division of nephrology from 1958 to 1982.

Scribner is survived by his wife, Ethel, seven children and six grandchildren.