Dr. Willem Kolff in the Netherlands developed the first hemodialysis system. In 1940 while taking care of casualties after the German invasion of Holland invented a rotating drum hemodialysis device using cellophane membranes obtained from a sausage company. At great risk to himself he hid the dialysis machines from the Nazi's by burying five of his machines in his back yard. After the war he dug them up and shipped them to the UK, USA, Canada, and Poland. In 1945 after the war he successfully treated a patient, who recovered from acuter kidney injury with lifesaving dialysis. Dr. Kolff immigrated to America in 1950 working initially at the Cleveland Clinic and later at the University of Utah Medical School where he was involved in Biomedical Research, contributing to the invention of the Jarvik Artificial heart. In the 1970’s chronic dialysis units were rapidly expanding throughout the country, but because of cost issues, space for dialysis was very limited, resulting in " God committees" who decided who lived and who died. In 1973 a supplemental Medicare law was passed by the US congress, making dialysis available to everyone. In the 1970’s Dr. Jack Moncrief in Austin, Texas developed a new technique for peritoneal dialysis allowing for the first time for patients to dialyze safely at home. He sold the idea to Baxter Company. He then purchased property in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and built a summer camp for children on peritoneal dialysis. Youngsters came from all over the USA to swim, hike, and ride horses. Physicians and nurses volunteered to help these kids, who attended for free. With the incredible technological advances in medicine there is also an increasing emphasis on Humanitarian Medicine. Dr. Abraham Verghese established a Center for Medical Humanities at Stanford and has written and spoken widely on the subject. His best-selling books include My Own Country, The Tennis Partner, and Cutting for Stone, an autobiographical novel about medicine in Ethiopia. In a talk for the American Society of Nephrology he concluded, as I will, by featuring the famous painting The Doctor by Sir Samuel Luke Fides emphasizing compassionate care.