Willem Johan Kolff was born in Leiden, the Netherlands, on February 14, 1911, the son of Adriana (de Jonge) and Jacob Kolff, a doctor who ran a tuberculosis sanatorium. After graduating from medical school at the University of Leiden in 1938, Kolff accepted a teaching post at the University of Groningen. There he was influenced by a professor who introduced Kolff to the basic concepts of dialysis--the principle whereby a solution of a high concentration passes through a semipermeable membrane to a solution with a lower concentration. He was affected as well by patients who were dying of kidney failure.

The kidneys are vital organs in the body; among other duties, the pair of organs is responsible for eliminating liquid wastes from the body, filtering over 400 gallons of blood daily. When the kidneys are not functioning correctly, uremia--a pathological condition caused by the accumulation of waste products normally removed in the...