sted in the story of a desperate experiment
to save a child's life, told in a letter written by one of my
associates soon after the event described; and it seems worthy of
repeating. Dr. Alexis Carrel has been associated with Dr. Flexner and
his work, and his wonderful skill has been the result of his
experiments and experiences.

A WONDERFUL SURGICAL OPERATION

"Dr. Alexis Carrel, one of the Institute's staff, has been making
some interesting studies in experimental surgery, and has
successfully transplanted organs from one animal to another, and
blood vessels from one species to another. He had the opportunity
recently of applying the skill thus acquired to the saving of a
human life under circumstances which attracted great interest among
the medical fraternity of this city. One of the best known of the
younger surgeons in New York had a child born early last March,
which developed a disease in which the blood, for some reason,
exudes from the blood vessels into the tissues of the body, and
ordinarily the child dies of this internal hemorrhage. When this
child was five days old it was evident that it was dying. The
father and his brother, who is one of the most distinguished men in
the profession, and one or two other doctors were in consultation
with reference to it, but considered the case entirely hopeless.

"It so happened that the father had been impressed with the work
which Dr. Carrel had been doing at the Institute, and had spent
several days with him studying his methods. He became convinced
that the only possibility of saving the child's life was by the
direct transfusion of blood. While this has been done between
adults, the blood vessels of a young infant are so delicate that it
seemed impossible that the operation could be successfully carried
on. It is necessary not only that the blood vessels of the two
persons should be united together, but it must be done in such a
way that the interior lining of the vessels, which is a smooth,
shiny tissue, should be continuous. If the blood comes in contact
with the muscular coat of the blood vessels, it will clot and stop
the circulation.

"Fortunately, Dr. Carrel had been experimenting on the blood
vessels of some very young animals, and the father was convinced
that if any man in the country could per