Year of birth: 1916

Year of death: 2009

Wikipedia

BIOGRAPHY

Jean Dausset was a French immunologist whose discovery of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system in the early 1950s revolutionised transplantation medicine. While studying transfusion reactions, he identified antibodies directed against leukocyte antigens, laying the foundation for understanding histocompatibility and graft rejection. His work established that immune recognition is genetically determined, enabling donor-recipient matching and transforming bone marrow and organ transplantation from experimental procedures into reliable clinical therapies. For this groundbreaking contribution, he was awarded the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (shared with George Snell and Baruj Benacerraf).