He is still working and at age 97 says, I still have a wonderful life. Because of them Willem decided as a young child that he wanted to be a doctor to help keep people China high speed embroidery machine Factory alive. Working with blood outside the human body put Willem's desire to create an artificial kidney into serious motion. Willem was in Hague the day World War II broke out and headed for the city's main hospital where he set up Holland's first blood bank. . Because his idea was so new he couldn't secure funding, so once again he used easily obtainable materials: a pressure cooker, coils of window screening, cellophane tubing and fruit juice cans! It worked. In those days Dutch students were required to take 6 years of Latin, 5 years of Greek and be fluent in four modern languages. Kolff is currently in the process of re-inventing the artificial heart, artificial arms, artificial eyes and ears (that actually allow the recipient to see and hear).His memories are so vivid that Willem can smell the pine trees, hear the birds and feel the soft earth beneath his feet. Willem had to tell the young man's mother that her son was going to die and there was nothing they could do for him. . You have the ability to fulfill your destiny!. And he was having so much trouble with just one! He was driven by his dream and, encouraged by those who believed in him, he worked harder than anyone else to make the jumbled words make sense. . . "All the letters are out of order and the words made no sense!" Willem suffered with dyslexia, an unknown disorder in Holland in the early 1900's. .S. Working with wooden drums, cellophane tubing and laundry tubs (sounds scary!) Willem created a machine that drew the toxic blood, cleansed it of impurities, and pumped it back into the patient - the first kidney dialysis machine had been created. Although they may seem overwhelming, don't let your circumstances (or people's opinions) dictate what you can or cannot do. But the road was not an easy one. Dr. The idea of an artificial kidney was born. They would walk in the woods around the sanatorium as his father told stories of life and death. Willem Kolff lived through the difficulties of dyslexia, rejection of his medical ideas and inventions, Nazi occupation of his country, the scorn and ridicule of his colleagues, and the challenges of immigrating to a new country. To suddenly see that you can do something that was not done before! Also, when a new thought is born, in a meeting with young students and co-workers, that is fun. Willem also perfected the artificial kidney and began performing successful kidney transplants. . he graduated and entered medical school at age 19 with the intention of practicing medicine. . . With some refinements it made artificial kidneys available worldwide. Willem's father was a physician and director of a sanatorium for tuberculosis in Holland. In addition to kidney treatments, Willem also became interested in blood transfusions, which were being done in Europe and the U. And pass he did. Most transfusions were done directly from the donor to the recipient, but Willem read about a blood bank in Chicago and learned how to store blood so it could be used without the donor being present. But his plans changed when, as a student medical assistant, he had to care for a 22-year-old who died a slow and terrible death from kidney failure. People's lives depended on his success in passing the courses to get through school. Like Dr. but not in the Netherlands. Because the Nazis took over the major hospital where he was working, Willem left and found work at a small hospital in a neighboring town and began creating. . I began to think, if I could just every day remove as much urea as this boy creates. But it's his father's voice that captivates him. It turned out to be just one more piece in the complex puzzle that would make his dream a reality. "What does this say?" he would silently scream. . These were some of his most favorite times; walking with his father and listening to stories - stories that determined the course of his life. But through it all he kept his focus on what he knew he wanted and what he knew he could do, even though others told him it was impossible. . That blood bank is still in existence. Kolff, you can rise above your situation if you will keep your eyes focused on your goal, and turn a deaf ear to your critics. In 1955 he decided to make a disposable artificial kidney. then the boy could live