Dame Marcela Contreras Arriagada, DBE (b. 4 January 1942) is a Chilean-born British leading blood expert, immunologist and university educator.

Born in Curicó

Curicó

Curicó , meaning "Black Waters" in Mapudungun , is the capital city of the Curicó Province, part of the Maule Region in Chile's central valley....

, a town in central Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 and raised in Coelemu

Coelemu

Coelemu is a Chilean commune and city in Ñuble Province, Biobío Region. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 16,082 and has an area of .-Demographics:...

 and christened Carmen Marcela Contreras Arriagada, she originally obtained her M.D.

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 degree from the Universidad de Chile, Santiago

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

, in 1968. As a recipient of a British Council

British Council

The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...

 scholarship

Scholarship

A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...

, she went to the U.K. in 1972 to study immunology

Immunology

Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...

 and has remained there ever since.

Contreras retired in February 2007 as national director for diagnostics, development and research for the National Blood Service

National Blood Service

The National Blood Service is the organisation for England and North Wales which collects blood and other tissues, tests, processes, and supplies all the hospitals in England and North Wales...

 (NBS) after working for the organisation for over 20 years. Her directorate consisted of nine functions, which included red cell

Red blood cell

Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate organism's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system...

 immunohaematology

Immunohaematology

Immunohematology, more commonly known as blood banking is a branch of hematology which studies antigen-antibody reactions and analogous phenomena as they relate to the pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of blood disorders. A person employed in this field is referred to as an immunohematologist...

; stem cell

Stem cell

This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...

s and immunotherapy

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a medical term defined as the "treatment of disease by inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an immune response". Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as activation immunotherapies. While immunotherapies that reduce or suppress are...

; and histocompatibility

Histocompatibility

Histocompatibility is the property of having the same, or mostly the same, alleles of a set of genes called the major histocompatibility complex. These genes are expressed in most tissues as antigens, to which the immune system makes antibodies...

 and immunogenetics

Immunogenetics

Immunogenetics is the branch of medical research that explores the relationship between the immune system and genetics.Autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, are complex genetic traits which result from defects in the immune system. Identification of genes defining the immune defects may...

.

She is now professor of transfusion medicine

Transfusion medicine

Transfusion medicine is the branch of medicine that is concerned with the transfusion of blood and blood components. The blood bank is the section of the clinical laboratory where medical technologists process and distribute blood products under the supervision of a medical director, often...

 at the Royal Free Hospital Medical School, London

Royal Free Hospital

The Royal Free Hospital is a major teaching hospital in Hampstead, London, England and part of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust....

. In January 2008 she was appointed President of the National Commission of Blood and Tissues of the Chilean Ministry of Health.

Writings

Contreras has more than 370 publications to her name, including the textbook Blood Transfusion in Clinical Medicine, which she co-authored. She has been invited to lecture and chair sessions at international and national meetings in over 30 different countries.

Honours

Contreras was named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to medicine.

External links

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6757091.stm
• http://society.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2104182,00.html
• http://www.mlwmagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=201&storyCode=2045179
• http://www.bbts.org.uk/news/details.cfm?newsId=105