Internationally renowned tenor expresses gratitude for successful treatment
SEATTLE, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Friends of Jose Carreras
International Leukemia Foundation has announced it will endow a chair for
clinical research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in honor of E.
Donnall Thomas, M.D., who pioneered the bone-marrow transplant.
The Foundation cites a strong wish to honor Carreras and Thomas,
emeritus director of clinical research at the Hutchinson Center. Thomas'
research in bone-marrow transplantation has saved thousands of lives and
won the 1990 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.
In 1987, Carreras was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and
traveled to the Hutchinson Center for what proved to be a successful series
of treatments, including a bone-marrow transplant. In 1988, in deep
gratitude to both science and society for the life-saving treatment and the
care and affection he received during his illness, Carreras enlisted the
help of noted physicians and scientists to initiate the Fundacion
Internacional Josep Carreras in his hometown of Barcelona.
"I want to express my deepest admiration for the work of the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and its dedication toward science,
leukemia patients and their families," Carreras said. "The Hutchinson
Center and the Foundation share a common goal: to achieve that leukemia
becomes one day a totally curable disease, always and for everyone. It is a
real pleasure to collaborate with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research
Center, and especially with an admirable person like Dr. Thomas."
"There are innumerable links that bind me with the Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center and with Dr. Thomas. It is an honor and a great
responsibility to continuously count on the trust, help and support of the
Hutchinson Center and Dr. Thomas," Carreras said.
The Spanish Carreras foundation and branch foundations in the United
States, Germany and Switzerland concentrate their efforts in four main
areas: funding scientific research, health care infrastructure, promotion
of transplantation, and social service to leukemia patients and their
families. In addition to funding leukemia research, the Spanish Carreras
foundation has worked to establish a bone-marrow registry in Spain. The
foundation and its affiliates have helped support dozens of scientists
worldwide, including annual fellowships for promising early-career
scientists at the Center and throughout the world.
The Jose Carreras/E. Donnall Thomas Endowed Chair for Cancer Research
will be awarded to a full member of the Center's Clinical Research Division
who spends at least 75 percent of his/her time in research. Candidates will
be nominated by their peers and selected by a committee chaired by the
Center's president and director. They must have an international reputation
for excellence in their field of research and, in addition, will have
independent grant support.
In September, Thomas and Center colleagues celebrated the 50th
anniversary of his groundbreaking paper on the promise of human bone-marrow
transplantation in the New England Journal of Medicine.
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams
of world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent,
diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers,
including three Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for
health, knowledge and hope to their work and to the world. For more
information, please visit http://www.fhcrc.org.
CONTACT
Christi Ball Loso
(206) 667-5215
closo@fhcrc.org
SOURCE Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
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Related links:
http://www.fhcrc.org/
CONTACT:
Christi Ball Loso of Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center, +1-206-667-5215, closo@fhcrc.org
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