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Oy Lary

P3500 November 14, 1979

JOSHUA LEDERBERG

PRESIDENT

Dr. Barton J. Bernstein
Department of History
Stanford University
Stanford, California 94305

Dear Bart:
Thank you for the reprint on 1945.

I was fascinated to learn that you are looking into
medical technological history and suspect that you al-
ready know much more about the artificial heart program
than I do. Also although my correspondence files are in
pretty good shape here, there were several feet of tech-
nical reports and miscellaneous evanescent literature
that have become disaggregated in the move and to which
I do not have ready access. I doubt actually that there
is much there that you could not find quickly yourself.

Actually I did not play any significant political
or operational role, although the possibility of an arti-
ficial heart pump seemed to me a tecHnological inevita-
bility and I was quite surprised that its pursuit was de-
flected in a number of ways. It never did engage very
much basic scientific interest and in fact the extent to
which the engineering work -- development of new materials
etc. -- might compete with funding for more basic approaches
may have been one of the problems in trying to develop the
program. I would hardly want to defend the pump versus
better preventive measures but, it seemed to me, almost
anything would be better than relying heavily on heart
transplants. We are likely to need a substantial number
of devices for a life saving role no matter. what else we
do in other directions. I do not really have any inkling
as to what went on in the higher councils; but it is hard
for me to believe that the technological obstacles would
really be so insurmountable if a concentrated effort could
be mobilized.
Dr. Barton J. Bernstein
November 14, 1979

-2-

I suspect that some of the moral and economic ques-
tions that I raised in my column have entered into so-
cial choice. In fact -- and I'll try to dig out the
letter if I can -- I had one attorney challenge me as
to whether "society had given its informed consent"
(sic!) for the development of a technology that was
inherently not equally available to all at least during
its early stages. These programs were then viewed as
"taking bread out of the mouths of the poor" competing
with primary care and so forth. «

I'll be quite interested to know what conclusions
you reach yourself and am sorry I'm not able to be of
more help. .

I am sure you've seen the existing works, especially
by S. P. Strickland.

Yourg sincerely,

Joshug Lederberg

nels. hl gene

P.S. When I looked in the files, I Pound much I had for-
gotten about. Most important items (and more) have
been copied and are enclosed.