[News Figures] William Murphy Jr., US Doctor Who Developed Blood Bags During the Korean War

Death at Home at Age 100 on the 5th
Development of Bag-Type Blood Pouch Instead of Glass Bottle
Development of Various Medical Devices Including Pacemaker and Tray

William P. Murphy Jr., an American doctor who first invented the bag-type blood bag now commonly seen in hospitals worldwide, has died at the age of 100, the New York Times (NYT) reported on the 5th (local time).

According to the report, Mike Thomas, CEO of US Stemcell, a U.S. biotech company where Murphy Jr. served as honorary chairman, announced that he passed away at his home in Coral Gables, Florida, the day before.

American physician William Murphy II

Murphy Jr. was a figure who made significant contributions to the development of medical equipment and tools.

He is especially famous for developing the bag-type blood bag for the first time between 1949 and 1950 together with his colleague Dr. Carl Walter. At that time, blood was stored in glass bottles, but by developing a blood bag made of polyvinyl chloride, he created a blood storage method that was sealable, inexpensive, durable, portable, easy to use, and flexible.

The blood bag was reportedly first introduced on a trial basis during the Korean War. After inventing it, Murphy Jr. joined the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) as a consultant in 1952. Immediately, at the request of the U.S. military, he personally taught how to use the blood bags to transfuse wounded soldiers at frontline emergency treatment centers in Korea during the Korean War.

In a 2019 interview with the NYT, Murphy Jr. recalled the situation, saying, "It was the first time that blood bags were extensively tested in a wartime situation," and described it as "a complete success." He added that since then, blood bags have become a core part of the blood collection and storage networks used by the American Red Cross and other overseas organizations.

Murphy Jr. also observed that during the Korean War, military medical personnel reused needles once used for transfusions and that medical instruments were not properly sterilized, which he judged to pose a high risk of infection. As a countermeasure, he developed an inexpensive medical tray for holding drugs and sterilized surgical instruments that could be discarded after a single use.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

After returning to the United States, he established a medical corporation in Miami in 1957, which later became Cordis, a U.S. medical device company that manufactures diagnostic and interventional devices for treating coronary and peripheral vascular diseases. The company developed and manufactured devices such as pacemakers to stabilize irregular heartbeats.

In addition, Murphy Jr. developed various medical devices and tools including artificial kidneys that purify waste from blood made of specific materials, catheters, and syringes. Based on this, he held 17 patents and submitted 30 papers to professional journals. He retired from Cordis in 1985.

Even after retirement, he acquired Hybrion in 1986, a company that designs, manufactures, and sells medical equipment, joined the board of BioHeart, which develops stem cell therapies, in 2003, and until recently served as honorary chairman of US Stemcell.

Murphy Jr., who devoted his life to medical devices, appears to have been greatly influenced by his parents, who were medical professionals.

Born in 1923, he was the son of William Parry Murphy, a hematologist, and Harriet Adams Murphy, the first woman in Massachusetts to obtain a dental license. His father, William Parry Murphy, developed a treatment for pernicious anemia using cow liver and jointly received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934.

He is survived by his wife Beverly Patterson and three children.