Belding Hibbard Scribner (January 18, 1921 – June 19, 2003) was an American physician and a pioneer in kidney dialysis.
After completing his postgraduate studies at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, he joined the faculty of the School of Medicine at the University of Washington in 1951.
The first patient treated was Clyde Shields; due to treatment with the new shunt technique, he survived his chronic kidney failure for more than eleven years, dying in 1971.
Scribner's invention created a new problem for clinical practice and a moral dilemma for physicians: Who will be treated if possible treatment is limited?
He published many scientific papers and books up until his death on June 19, 2003, when a kayaker found his body floating near his houseboat; it was conjectured that he had lost his balance and drowned.