The Catalan Society for the History of Medicine, in collaboration with the Catalan-Balearic Society of Blood Transfusion, the Catalan Society of Hematology and Hemotherapy, the Barcelona Medical Association, the Blood and Tissue Bank of the Government of Catalonia, and the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC), will host a round table on the “Past, Present and Future of the Work of Frederic Duran i Jordà” in the ICGC’s assembly hall, the very building where he once worked. During the round table, the educational documentary “Blood Transfusion” (1937), for which Duran i Jordà served as technical director, will also be screened.

Prior to the event, there will be a guided tour of the parts of the building where rooms have been identified as belonging to what was, during the Spanish Civil War, Blood Hospital No. 18.

It was in this centre that Dr Frederic Duran i Jordà organised what is considered to be the first operational blood bank in the world. Through a donor organisation he created, he collected and processed blood, preserved it, and transported it to the front lines in refrigerated lorries to meet the medical needs of the wounded.

Like many other doctors who innovated during the war, Duran i Jordà was forced into exile in England in 1939. His scientific and technical work, pioneering in the field of hemotherapy, was not recognised in his home country until many years later, when his legacy was revived in the 1990s. In 2010, the headquarters of the current Blood and Tissue Bank of Catalonia, located in Poble Nou, was named in his honour.

The Catalan Society for the History of Medicine had long advocated for the physical site of these advances to be commemorated. At last, the Barcelona City Council has agreed to install a historical memory plaque to mark the events.

Furthermore, the year 2025 has been declared by the Barcelona Medical Association as the Year of Dr Frederic Duran i Jordà. A series of events will be held, publications released, and exhibitions organised to celebrate his life and work.
 

PROGRAMME:

Imatge

Imatge