Bluma Tischler

Bluma Gorfinkel Tischler (June 20, 1924, in Baranavichy – May 16, 2015 in Vancouver) was a Canadian pediatrician known for her work in treating phenylketonuria, including her role in the widespread implementation of the Guthrie test for detecting that illness. then in Montreal.

Controversy

In 1954, Tischler joined the Woodlands School, a school for disabled children and adults. Initially a staff pediatrician, she was eventually promoted to medical director; in this position, she screened the resident population for phenylketonuria, then divided the phenylketonurics into treatment and control groups, testing the therapeutic effects of special diets on them without either their consent or that of their parents.

Woodlands was later closed down, and many of its former residents charged that they had been abused by the personnel; however, a 2001 report into conditions at Woodlands, and abuse committed by its personnel, did not mention Tischler.