On Jun. 1, 1964, the Mini-1 dialysis machine was delivered to the University of Washington (UW) Hospital and the first home dialysis was begun in July.

Demand quickly out stripped supply and the UW contracted with Milton Roy in St. Petersburg, FL to manufacture the machines. In 1988, the technology was licensed to Seattle-based Advancd Renal Technologies.

Today the legacy of innovation in kidney care continues with the clinical trial of the wearable artificial kidney. If it’s safe and effective, it will doubtless have several iterations, making it smaller and easier to wear. Jim Church says he may not live to wear one, but he’s glad the UW is helping bring this possibility to the fore for the hundreds of thousands of patients whose lives are now restricted by current dialysis options.