17 August 2018

BSH was saddened to learn of the death of former President Dr S. Mitchell Lewis on Wednesday, 8 August 2018.

Dr Lewis was a consultant haematologist at the Hammersmith Hospital and was perhaps best known for co-authoring Dacie and Lewis Practical Haematology, which has been often been described as the 'Bible of haematology'. 

President of BSH from 1983-84, Dr Lewis leaves a substantial body of work behind him, including work in the late 1960s on the performance of haemoglobin measurement which led to the development of the Haemoglobincyanide reference standard under the guidance of the International Committee for Standardisation in Haematology (ICSH), an organisation he Chaired from 1982 to 1994.

He also co-founded UK NEQAS, an organisation which improves patient care through monitoring the quality of tests and their reporting where he was Director of UK NEQAS Haematology until his retirement in the 1990s. Upon retiring his Emeritus position at Hammersmith Hospital in 2010, the Mitchell Lewis poster prize was established by UK NEQAS in his honour for their annual Haematology Participants' meeting.

We extend our condolences to Dr Lewis' family and friends at this sad time.