7. Scientist performed an exchange blood transfusion between himself and a Thrombocytopenic patient to discover the immune basis of idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura.
The infamous Harrington-Hollingsworth experiment was an experiment that established the autoimmune nature of the blood disorder immune thrombocytopenic purpura. The experiment was undertaken in 1950 by physician William J. Harrington and James W. Hollingsworth, who postulated that in patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), it was a blood factor that caused the destruction of platelets. To test this hypothesis, Harrington received 500 ml of blood from a patient with ITP. Within three hours, his platelets dropped to dangerously low levels and he experienced a seizure. His platelet count remained extremely low for four days, finally returning to normal levels by the fifth day.
Bone marrow biopsy from Harrington’s sternum demonstrated normal megakaryocytes, the cells necessary for platelet production. Subsequently the experiment was repeated on all suitable staff members at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital. All subjects developed low platelet counts within three hours, and all recovered after a period of several days. Contemporary scientists consider the Harrington-Hollingsworth experiment a landmark in the understanding of ITP’s pathophysiology as it changed the meaning of the “I” in ITP from idiopathic to immune, but “immune” in this case means “autoimmune,” because the antibodies bind to and cause the destruction of the patient’s own platelets.