Vivien T. Thomas
Vivien Theodore Thomas was born on this date in 1910. He was a Black supervisor of Surgical Research Laboratories.
He was born in Lake Providence, LA, and graduated from Pearl High School in Nashville, TN, in 1929. Thomas planned to utilize his carpentry skills, which he had learned from his father, William Maceo Thomas, to work at the Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School (now Tennessee State University). He also planned to prepare to enter medical school and become a physician. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 ended his plans. In 1930, he accepted a full-time position as a laboratory assistant at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
At Vanderbilt, Thomas worked with the surgeon Alfred Blalock, gathering evidence that "linked shock to decreases in blood volume and to fluid loss outside the vascular system." This research led to applications in blood and plasma treatment for traumas during World War II. Thomas was responsible for developing experimental procedures, refining experiments, and testing new protocols in the laboratory.
In 1941, Blalock accepted the chairmanship of the surgery department at Johns Hopkins University, and Thomas accompanied him. At Johns Hopkins, the work on the "blue baby" syndrome was a significant achievement, and Thomas was present to offer technical advice during the procedure—the new procedure saved newborn infants from chronic circulatory failure.
Thomas served as a research associate, supervisor of the surgical laboratories, and instructor of surgery at the school. In 1976, Johns Hopkins University awarded Thomas an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. He pioneered the anastomosis of the subclavian artery to the pulmonary artery. His surgical work with Alfred Blalock paved the way for the successful outcome of the Blalock-Taussig shunt.
Vivien T. Thomas died on November 26, 1985.
