but I have always rejoiced that all of us young people have been strictly taught to systematically set aside a certain part of our own earnings for the benefit of the poor. I consider this custom of accustoming children from an early age to the awareness of their duties towards their neighbors to be extremely laudable. Now, though, it's getting harder and harder. What in my time was considered a sign of luxury is now widely available. True, it would be desirable to prove that true pleasure lies in giving money to a good deed, rather than spending it uselessly. I have always dreamed of proving (or contributing to proving) during my lifetime what is the essence of true, active beneficence, hoping to thereby give a more expedient use of wealth, both for present and future generations.
Perhaps the difference between the mere giving of funds and the actual rendering of assistance is this: the poor willingly help to remove the unfortunate circumstances that have befallen the neighbor's family or household. The rich man, when giving money, if he wishes that his gift would bring real benefit, should carefully evaluate each case presented to him. He should try to improve the circumstances that caused the need and remove them. He does not need to shy away from this way of solving the problem, and he can start and carry it out quite conscientiously. Without examining the reasons for failure, giving out money is a useless waste that does not achieve an effect, does not help anyone.
For example, the establishment of large hospitals by dedicated men and women is already a true act of charity. But не меньшее значение имеют, по моему мнению, и научные исследования, имеющие целью установление новых, до сей поры неизвестных фактов относительно болезней, как и методов лечения, облегчающих страдания или совсем излечивающих болезни.
There has always been a sufficient number of people ready to help sick or grieving people. But дать средства исследователю, изучающему причины болезни и возможность их удаления – это привлекает лишь немногих. The first method of rendering assistance appeals only to a feeling of compassion, while the second already requires the presence of the conscious work of the mind.
And yet we have already accomplished astonishing feats in this field of scientific giving, as I would call this field. Everywhere in the world it is beginning to be recognized that the great problems of philanthropy cannot be solved by simple monetary impulses, that the generous support of men and women who devote their lives to the study of practical and scientific questions is needed. At the same time, it is not harmful, but rather even useful, to recall the extraordinary heroism with which researchers risked their lives, and sometimes died, investigating, for example, the causes of yellow fever, for the discovery of which their names will not sink into eternity among countless generations of the human race. Is the same отчаянная решимость героизма воодушевляет всех врачей, а хирургов в особенности.

Support for scientific research

How far does this spirit of true self-sacrifice reach in our time? We see that a number of doctors, men of science, for years renounce all comfort, all enjoyment of life, in order to contribute by their active work to the sum of human knowledge. I have often wondered if people who look down and criticize often without any understanding of such scientific research clearly understand whether they understand the meaning of such criticism. After all, the big difference lies in whether to talk about the matter, understanding nothing about it, with all the cynicism of self-confident impudence, or when expressing his own opinion on this matter. the opinion of a specialist in his field, who draws conclusions from the facts, based on his rich scientific experience.
I personally have always been a silent observer and listener, never being so impudent as to climb with my advice to people who have more experience and knowledge in this matter than I do, and take risks, design, implement those or other plans in which I participate. honored by leaving the development and execution of details to specialists.
Not a little - and, no doubt, quite sincere - condemnation has always been caused by experiments in performing surgical operations on a living animal in order to study the functions of the body - vivisection. Any statement in favor of a defenseless, dumb animal appeals so strongly to a feeling of natural compassion that it is sometimes pointless to point to the other side of these experiences. Dr. Flexner of the Institute of Medical Research has often been forced to refute sensational reports of vivisections, which are often devoid of any credibility. In the laboratory of this same Dr. Flexner, a remedy for epidemic meningitis has now been discovered - please bear this in mind. True, for this discovery it was necessary to sacrifice the lives of fifteen animals, mostly monkeys; but for every life of a monkey, how many hundreds and thousands of people are saved by him. Doctors with a scientific mind, with a passion for truth, in the field of medicine, will never inflict aimless suffering on a living being.
In the next chapter, on the basis of a message written to me, I will tell about one particularly interesting, desperate and undertaken only on the basis of the experience of vivisection on animals, an operation that was crowned with brilliant success.

Amazing surgery

Dr. Alexis Carrel, one of the directors of the aforementioned "Institute of Medical Research", has made many interesting experiments in experimental surgery, among other things, on the transplantation of an organ from one animal to another and the transfer of blood vessels. Recently, he had to apply the experience he had acquired to saving a human life, and, moreover, under circumstances that aroused the general attention of doctors in New York. One of the most prominent young surgeons of this city, at the beginning of March of this year, a child was born, suffering from a disease in which blood, it is still not clear why, comes out of blood vessels, passing into the tissues of the body. Usually, the person affected by this disease dies from complete blood loss. After five days from the date of birth, the ominous signs of impending death became apparent. Father and uncle, also one of the best doctors, and other doctors held a consultation and, after discussing the case from beginning to end, decided that there was no hope.
The child's father was an enthusiastic admirer of the experiments on animals performed by Dr. Carrel in his laboratory, and, as it turned out, was present at many experiments of this kind, thus becoming acquainted with the method of Dr. Carrel. Immediately, he decided that the only way to save the child from death would be a direct transfusion (transfusion) of blood into the body of the child. Such transfusions have been repeatedly performed on adults. But у грудного ребенка кровеносные сосуды так нежны, что успех операции казался невозможным. After all, this requires not only a close direct connection between the blood vessels, but everything must be arranged so that their inner shell, consisting of a smooth and very shiny tissue, would be continuous. The fact is that as soon as the blood touches the muscular membrane of the vessels, it thickens and impedes blood circulation.
Fortunately, Dr. Carrel performed transfusion experiments on some very young animals, and the father was convinced that if anyone could perform such an operation successfully, it would be Dr. Carrel alone.
In the middle of the night they sent for Dr. Carrel. After explaining the state of affairs and establishing that the child must die one way or another, he agreed to make an attempt, although he had previously declared that he had very little hope of a successful outcome.
The father offered his blood to be transfused into the child's body. The use of anesthesia in both was impossible. In a child, there is only one vein that is wide enough for such an operation, namely the vein along the long bone of the leg, which is rather deeply hidden by the musculature. One well-known surgeon, a participant in the operation, exposed this vein, while not noticing any signs of life in the child and deciding that, in all likelihood, he had already died for about ten minutes. In view of this fact, he raised the question: does it make sense to continue transfusion? But отец настаивал на ней, и хирургу пришлось обнажить радиальную артерию кистевого сустава у отца на шесть дюймов (это артерия пульса) из ткани, чтобы сделать трансфузию возможной.
It was like after the surgeon told, despite all the experience of surgeons, the real work of a butcher. The child's blood vessel, they said, had the size and thickness of a match, and the consistency of moistened tissue paper. It seemed quite impossible to connect the two vessels. But д-р Каррель сделал невозможное. And then something happened that the doctors present recognized as one of the most dramatic moments of modern surgery. They finally allowed blood from the father's artery into the child's body (about half a liter). The first sign of life in the baby's motionless body was a pink speck at the top of one ear. Then the lips, which had already turned completely blue, began to redden, and suddenly, as if a child jumped out of a hot bath, his whole body turned red from the heat. The baby began to cry, as if he was completely healthy. After about eight minutes, both vessels were separated. The baby immediately demanded a breast. It was fed, and from that moment it began to eat and