8. Creation of RhoGAM
In 1968, the Food and Drug Administration approved a medication called Rho(D) immune globulin, commonly known as RhoGAM, developed by Dr. John G. Gorman, blood bank director at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and colleagues Dr. Vincent Freda and William Pollack.
RhoGAM is given to pregnant women who are Rh negative, which means that the mother lacks a particular antigen called Rh(D) in the blood. RhoGAM prevents Rh disease, in which the mother’s blood type is incompatible with her baby’s blood type. Rh disease can lead to brain damage or death for the newborn, and RhoGAM saved thousands of lives per year. Prior to the vaccine, Rh disease took the lives of over 10,000 babies yearly.