George William Gregory Bird

George William Gregory Bird (7 November 1916 – 29 March 1997) was a British medical doctor, academic, researcher and haematologist known for his expertise in the fields of blood transfusion and immunohaematology. He founded the Department of Transfusion Medicine at the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2010.

Biography

George William Gregory Bird, born in the UK in 1916, graduated in medicine in 1941. After joining the medical corps of the British Army, he served in the Middle East and India in the British Base Transfusion Units and trained army doctors on trauma management. He worked at AFMC till 1966 during which time his researches on Dolichos biflorus (horse gram) revealed the agglutinating activity of human A1 red cells in its extracts. He continued his researches on seeds and was credited with the discovery of anti-T in Arachis hypogea (peanut). His prolific work in this area is reported to have earned him the moniker, The King of Lectins and Polyagglutination. In between, he received the Oliver Memorial Award in 1981. The Armed Forces Medical College, Pune inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2010.