The Thomas G. Wharton Memorial Lectures
The Thomas G. Wharton Memorial Lecture is given each year by the President
of
The Academy at the Annual Seminar of The American Academy of Cardiovascular
Perfusion.
This series is reprinted with the permission of
The Proceedings of The American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion.
Thomas Wharton was a friend of perfusion in the true sense of the word. He worked for Travenol Laboratories for sixteen years starting in 1958. Tom then started his own company, Human Resources, Inc. During this time he served as the first Executive Director of the Journal of Extracorporeal Technology, the Executive Director of the American Society of Extracorporeal Technology (1977) and the Executive Director of the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion. In 1978, Tom moved to California accepting the position of Product Manager of tubing packs for William Harvey Research Corporation.
Thomas Wharton believed in perfusion as a career and a profession. He also believed in formal education for the perfusionist. In the summer of 1979, Tom handed a perfusionist from Birmingham, Alabama, $2000.00 and told him to "go out and start that perfusion education organization we have talked about for so long." That is how this Academy was founded. Unfortunately while driving to work that fall, Tom had a heart attack and died. He never witnessed the formation or attended the first meeting of this society he was so instrumental in forming.
