Professor Mary G. (Mollie) McGeown (1923–2004)
|
In 1998, at 75, Mollie McGeown's contributions to nephrology were marked by a Festschrift in this journal, consisting of three specially commissioned articles, to which I was privileged to add a Laudatio (Nephrol Dial Transplant 1998; 13: 1380–1383). Mollie much appreciated this honour, as did many colleagues and friends. It now falls to me to record, with sorrow, her death at the age of 81.
Mollie's life and achievements have been fully set out in the Laudatio. After an outstanding undergraduate career at Queens University, Belfast, followed by an MD in Pathology, a PhD in Biochemistry and a Medical Research Council grant at the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast, she went on to establish an international reputation in calcium metabolism, hyperparathyroidism and renal stone disease, becoming the first woman (and physician) to be elected to the British Association of Urological Surgeons. In 1959, without prior renal training, she was called on to set up acute and chronic dialysis services in Northern Ireland. Quick to see the potential of renal transplantation following Roy Calne's success with azathioprine in 1962, she provided some of the UK's first recipients and, in 1968, succeeded in having an integrated dialysis and renal transplant unit opened at Belfast City Hospital. Here she developed the ‘Belfast Recipe’, which combined low dose steroids, cautious antirejection, vigilant post-transplant care and a commitment to continued support in the event of graft failure. The recipe delivered over 80% cumulative graft survival at 5 years, with low patient mortality (an outcome unequalled at that time), showing that transplantation could be both successful and relatively safe.
Mollie was a pioneer of renal services planning, excelling in the provision of reliable epidemiological data from which future needs could be predicted. Her clinical and scientific interests continued unabated throughout her career and long after her retirement in 1988, with over 350 articles, contributions to text books and manuals, and published works on clinical transplantation and electrolyte disorders. Among many distinctions, she was President of the Renal Association (UK), Council Member of the British Transplant Society, Chairperson of the UK Transplant Services Management Committee and a member of the Renal Services Review for London and England. She was awarded the CBE (UK) in 1985 and became Professorial Fellow in Medicine at Queens Belfast in 1988. In 1987, she was elected an honorary member of EDTA/ERA. In 1998, on the 50th anniversary of the UK National Health Service, she was named as one of the 50 women who had contributed most to its success.
As a nephrologist, Mollie's chief qualities were her wide background knowledge, shrewd clinical judgement, dedication, administrative ability and legendary force of character. Small in stature, and not possessing perfect health, she nevertheless wielded immense authority, aiming always at excellence and expecting to find it in her colleagues. Having encountered male medical prejudice in her early career, and scepticism when setting up the renal service, an element of steel had entered her professional personality. One of her greatest strengths was her readiness to adopt new ideas if scientifically proven, but she was a trenchant critic of views which she considered unsound. Slipshod methods or thinking exasperated her, as some discovered to their discomfiture. However, what really set her apart was her commitment to patient care, which I witnessed on countless occasions and learned from constantly. This, combined with her humanity and underlying generosity of spirit, inspired exceptional respect and affection among colleagues and especially patients, many of whom seemed to believe her even capable of raising the dead! One result was the Northern Ireland Kidney Research Fund, founded by a former patient, which has raised millions of pounds for renal research in the province.
To the astonishment of her colleagues, Mollie, throughout her medical career, led a parallel second life as Mrs Max Freeland, married to a senior Queens University administrator until his death in 1982 and raising five talented young men who report that she never failed to make their evening meal or perform any other maternal chore. In their liberal home, she presided as an efficient housewife, a charming hostess, an intellectual companion eager to share her interests in local history and antiques, and as a caring, loyal friend whose generosity went far beyond the ‘second mile’. Mollie was an exceptional person, who will be deeply missed, both in Belfast and in the wider world.
Belfast City Hospital, Belfast Email: jamesdouglas38{at}hotmail.com
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||