Nils Alwall

"[5] Willem Johan Kolff constructed the first artificial kidney; however, it was not very useful clinically because it did not allow for removal of excess fluid.

Alwall modified a similar construction to the Kolff kidney by enclosing it inside a stainless steel canister.

On September 3, 1946, Alwall treated his first patient in acute kidney injury, who responded well to the treatment but died of pneumonia a short while after.

Subsequently, he used such shunts, made of glass, as well as his canister-enclosed dialyzer, to treat 1,500 people in kidney failure between 1946 and 1960, as reported to the First International Congress of Nephrology held in Evian in September 1960.

Subsequently, he collaborated with Swedish businessman Holger Crafoord to found one of the key companies that would manufacture dialysis equipment for several decades, Gambro, Inc.[4][8] In honor of Alwall's advancements and achievements, the Nils Alwall Prize is awarded every year for "Groundbreaking research in the field of kidney replacement therapy.