Georges Andreu is medical and scientific director of the French blood transfusion service (EFS). He qualified as MD and PhD at the Paris VI University Saint-Antoine Hospital, in Charles Salmon's laboratory. He worked at the apheresis units in Henri Mondor (Créteil) and Avicenne (Bobigny) Hospitals, before heading the Paris Hôtel-Dieu blood bank between 1983 and 1996. After two years as head of Saint-Antoine blood bank, he participated in the building of the new French blood transfusion service and became director of the Centre-Atlantique blood transfusion center in Tours. He joined EFS headquarters in 2004.

Georges Andreu has published over 150 articles. He coauthored with B.Genetet and J.M.Bidet a textbook of transfusion medicine. His research domains range from classical immuno-hematology (acquired B and Tk polyagglutinations) and allo-immunization (against red cells antigens, HLA and Immunoglogulins), to blood components processing (leukodepletion and UVB irradiation) and therapeutic apheresis (development of an extracorporeal photochemotherapy technique).

Why did you go into hematology?

I was first introduced to haematology during may 1968 in Paris Saint-Louis hospital as a medical student, but it was only two years later that I met Alain Gerbal, Jean-Pierre Cartron and Charles Salmon in Saint-Antoine hospital, which was at that time the French "Mecca" in the field of immuno-haematology. I was almost immediately an enthusiastic immuno-haematologist, working in such a dynamic environment, and I was lucky they accepted me as a doctorate student.

Who or what has most inspired you in your work?

Alain Gerbal was, all his too short life, a man of permanent intellectual stimulation and curiosity. His approaches of immuno-haematology and blood transfusion medicine in general had a great impact on me, and led to my engagement in this field. Charles Salmon, and his permanent will to better understand blood group antigens was also essential to my decision.

Pierre Burtin, known for his works on carcino embryonic antigen, and who coauthored years before the discovery of immunoelectrophoresis initiated me to cancerology and experimental medicine, but when I found ABH antigens reactivity on CEA molecule, I knew I had to work in blood transfusion!

Which scientific papers have made a great impression on you?

The paper published by Deeg and co-authors on the prevention of transfusion-induced graft-versus host disease in dogs by ultraviolet irradiation in Blood (1989, 74 : 2592-2595) not only impressed me, but impacted deeply my professional engagement in the prevention of HLA allo-immunization : what Hans Joachim Deeg had done with dogs, irradiating cells on Petri dishes, I had to do it for patients, in adapted blood bags. I cooked many platelet concentrates on too hot UV sources and tried almost 10 different plastics before obtaining a satisfactory result, but eventually I did it in 1992.

Mo Blajchman's paper on an animal model showing a reduction of transfusion-induced enhancement of tumor growth by using leukodepletion and passive transfer using spleen cells in Blood (1993 81: 1880-1882) opened new perspectives about transfusion-induced immuno-modulation, and as there is still a mystery on the precise mechanism, the challenge remains intact until today.

What is the most important lesson you've learnt in your professional life?

I shall always remember an important clinical trial in the early eighties in which, with many associates, I had great hopes of reducing the incidence of acute GvHD after allogeneic transplantation. We were so proud to be able to eliminate T cells from the graft! Alas, the follow-up was terrible, with almost no GvHD, but a considerable incidence of leukaemia relapse. This was an important lesson of humility, and led me to a new approach of our responsibility, as physicians in charge of patients.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Being able to build a device for performing extracorporeal photochemotherapy, and to observe how under that treatment, a 76-year-old lady with rheumatoid arthritis unable to move out of her bed was able to come by herself to the apheresis unit at the end of the third week of treatment. It is not probably a great achievement, but simple satisfactions are probably the best ones.

What are the best and worst aspects of your job?

The best, I mentioned it in the previous section. The worst is actually two things, (i) that our family does not see us enough, and (ii) that we do not see enough our family!

When or where are you happiest?

Walking peacefully with my wife in the country.

What do you do to relax?

Playing piano is the most relaxing activity for me, although I am sure it is not for those around me!

What book are you reading at the moment?

"la mariée libérée", a fiction of A.B. Yehoshua, a kind of guide into the secret heart of a family, but also into the so complex Arab Jewish relationship.

What's your most evocative piece of music?

Schubert's trio op100, but also all Mozart's piano music played by Mieczyslaw Horszowski.

What's your favorite film?

I love all the great classics, but recently I thought I was dreaming when I saw the adaptation of Patrick O'Bryan's adventures of "lucky" Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, diving in the late 18^th early 19^th century British Navy…a great adaptation of such sensitive fiction, which I read almost entirely.

What are your hobbies?

I like working with wood, building simple things like shelves for my books.

What car do you drive?

A Citroen "Evasion", but probably not for long!

What are your unfulfilled ambitions?

Joker…

How would you like to be remembered?

Professionally, as somebody who tried to contribute to the progress of transfusion medicine.