Newsline (Winter 2009)

Hemophilia Changes

When Arthur R. Thompson, MD, PhD, retired at the end of September 2008, it marked the end of an era for Puget Sound Blood Center.

Dr. Neil Josephson and Dr. Art Thompson

Director of the Blood Center’s Hemophilia Care Program and Hemostasis Laboratories, Dr. Thompson’s name became synonymous with Puget Sound Blood Center. He, along with Richard B. Counts, MD, former President and CEO, Puget Sound Blood Center, established the Hemophilia Care Program in 1973. The program became a resource for expert care and support of patients with congenital bleeding disorders throughout Washington, Idaho and Western Montana. Dr. Thompson moved his research laboratory to the Blood Center from the Pacific Medical Center in 1987 and continued his studies on the structure and genetics of Factor VIII and Factor IX proteins, abnormalities of which cause, respectively, Hemophilia A (classical Hemophilia) and Hemophilia B (Christmas Disease). Dr. Thompson’s meticulous, systematic analyses of the genetic defects in families with hemophilia provided critical information for the understanding of the structure and function of the Factor VIII and Factor IX proteins. He also participated in the first gene transplant studies which proved the feasibility of gene transfer to potentially provide a cure for the hemophilias in the near future. More recent efforts have focused on a better understanding of the immune responses to infused factor VIII, the major complication of hemophilic therapy. The latter have been in collaboration with Dr. Kathleen Pratt. Her laboratory in the Blood Center’s Research Division has developed an internationally recognized research program on patients’ immunologic reactions to factor VIII.

“Dr. Arthur Thompson has made incredible contributions to the field of hemophilia treatment and to the growth of Puget Sound Blood Center,” said Dr. Counts. “The Blood Center’s Hemophilia Program now supports over a thousand individuals with congenital bleeding disorders and their families throughout Washington State and is considered our nation’s leading hemophilia care program, largely due to Dr. Thompson and his research. We wish him well in his retirement and thank him for the service he has provided to the Blood Center and the community.”

Prior to joining the Blood Center, Dr. Thompson received his undergraduate degree from Amherst College and an MD and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Washington in Seattle. He interned in medicine at New York Hospital, and following two years in the US Army, he completed his training in Medicine and Hematology in Seattle.

Dr. Thompson is a member of the University of Washington faculty in the division of Hematology and has been a professor of medicine since 1984. He is currently a member of the National Hemophilia Foundation’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Council (MASAC) and has been a medical advisor to the World Federation of Hemophilia. Dr. Thompson has authored over 100 scientific publications and has been widely sought after as a speaker at national and international conferences.

Dr. Neil Josephson, a Blood Center Hematologist with research interests in altering immune responses to factor VIII, has been working with the Hemophilia Care Program for over two years. This past year, he has been the attending physician for the state-wide outreach clinics organized by the Puget Sound Blood Center’s Hemophilia Program’s nursing staff. He became Director of the Hemophilia Care Program effective July 1, 2008 and Dr. Thompson moved to part-time until his retirement in September.

Hemophilia Care Program current and former staff members: Daphne Sanders, Renee Killian,
Dr. Neil Josephson, Dr. Art Thompson, Charles Cooper, Cheryl Brower, Helen Shapiro