Dr. Robert A. Good

Dr. Robert A. Good, a pioneer of modern immunology who performed the world ' s first successful human bone marrow transplant, has died. He was 81.

Dr. Good died Friday night at his home surrounded by his family and students, said Ann Miller, a spokeswoman for All Children ' s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla.

" His concern for children ' s lives through his work to understand the immune system and bone marrow transplantation benefited not just the little ones, but countless thousands of adults who have been saved through the discoveries he made, " said J. Dennis Sexton, former president of All Children ' s.

Dr. Good performed the world ' s first bone marrow transplant in 1968 while working at the University of Minnesota.

His patient was a 4-month-old boy who suffered from a genetic immune system disease that had killed 11 male children in the boy ' s extended family. Using bone marrow from the child ' s sister, Dr. Good was able to restore the boy ' s immune system. The boy is now the father of twin sons.

Today, bone marrow transplants are used in treating about 75 diseases, including leukemia and otherwise fatal immunodeficiency disorders.

Dr. Good was born in Crosby, Minn., and pledged to become a doctor at age 6, after his father died of cancer. Dr. Good then overcame a polio-like disease while a junior at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Good began his career in 1944. His early studies helped establish that problems with the body ' s immune response were more common than had been thought, and were a frequent basis of serious diseases. His research also led to the identification of T-cells and B-cells, main components of the body ' s immune system.

After his success with bone marrow transplantion, Dr. Good was named president of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in New York and was featured in a Time magazine cover story.

He joined All Children ' s Hospital in 1985 and began research on skin tissue grafting that eventually could lead to breakthroughs in organ transplantation. In 1987 he helped establish the National Bone Marrow Registry.

Survivors include his wife, five children and two stepchildren.