Baby Blindness Pioneer Arnall Patz, Ex-WA3EVC (SK):

Dr Arnall Patz, ex-WA3EVC -- an ophthalmologist who discovered and eliminated a major cause of blindness in premature infants -- passed away from heart disease on March 11. He was 89. In 1954, Patz proved that treating premature babies with pure oxygen could destroy their eyesight. At the time, this was the most common cause of blindness in premature infants. Although the new understanding came too late for thousands of people who were made blind by oxygen -- including the singer Stevie Wonder, ARRL Connecticut Section Manager Betsey Doane, K1EIC, and her twin sister Barbara Lombardi, K1EIR -- it undoubtedly saved many more from a similar fate. "Barb and I are thrilled to learn that the doctor who discovered the effect of too much oxygen at birth was a ham. We only wish we had met him or worked him on the air. How exciting that would have been!" Doane told the ARRL. Patz operated a ham radio from his home on behalf of the Maryland Eye Bank. According to his nephew Sam, Patz erected an 80 foot tower at his home and became known to amateurs across the country for putting out the word on the airwaves whenever corneas were needed for transplant. Read more here http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/17/11395/?nc=1.

Source:

The ARRL Letter

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