Marion Lewis

Marion Jean Lewis (September 21, 1925 – October 18, 2025) was a Canadian medical researcher, known for her work on the Rh factor

Life and career Lewis graduated from Winnipeg's Gordon Bell High School in 1943. She was trained as a medical technician at Winnipeg General Hospital. In 1944, the pediatric pathologist Bruce Chown, assisted by Lewis, opened the Rh Laboratory in Winnipeg to study and eradicate Rh disease. Their research led to effective treatments and a vaccine that prevents Rh disease.

In 1950–51, Lewis spent four months at an Italian university studying the Italian language and culture. She then spent another three months studying in London under world-renowned ‘blood groupers’ Robert Race and Ruth Sanger. In 1951, she returned to Winnipeg and the Rh lab. In 2020, Lewis was appointed a member of the Order of Manitoba.

Lewis died in Winnipeg on October 18, 2025, at the age of 100.

Awards and honours 1971 – Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award of the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) 1986 – honorary D.Sc. from the University of Winnipeg 1993 – election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada 1996 – Emily Cooley Memorial Award of the AABB 2019 – Officer of the Order of Canada 2020 – Member of the Order of Manitoba