Robert A. Donato, 89, pioneer in blood banking methods

TRANSPORTING blood for transfusions in wartime was a critical activity. The lives of wounded men and women depended on its efficient availability.

It was in the Korean War in the 1950s that important strides were made in the storage and transportation of blood, and later plasma, to MASH units in the combat zones and hospitals where wounded personnel were taken.

And in the forefront of these improvements was Robert A. Donato, a Philadelphia pathologist who headed teams of medical personnel at MASH units and Army hospitals in Seoul and Tokyo, working to help save the lives of the wounded.

"He saw some ghastly wounds," said his wife, Susan M. Hansen. "He felt honored to be able to serve his country in this way. He was very proud."

Dr. Donato, who died Saturday at age 89, and his teams were confronted in the early stages of the Korean conflict with the inefficient and dangerous way that whole blood was stored and transported in glass bottles.

Blood for transfusions arrived that way at the mobile Army surgical hospitals (MASH) in the field and at other hospitals that were treating the wounded. The blood deteriorated, the bottles broke.

Under Donato's guidance, plasma was substituted for whole blood and plastic bags were used instead of glass. He and his teams experimented on these procedures under combat conditions in the field.

Countless lives were saved as a result of these developments.

And when Dr. Donato got back to Philadelphia, he was instrumental in establishing blood-banking standards for the city, and was an active board member of the American Red Cross Regional Blood Services, as well as the national board of the Blood Services division for many years.

He was also active in the efforts to prevent AIDS victims from giving tainted blood to hospitals and blood banks by developing better screening of donors.

He died of lung disease after a long illness. He lived in Mount Airy.

Bob Donato was proud of being the model for the statue of Thomas Fitzsimons, one of two Catholic signers of the Declaration of Independence, on Logan Square.

His eccentric sculptor uncle, Guissepe Donato, got him to pose, three-cornered hat and all, for the sculpture. Bob would point it out to friends. "That's me," he would say.

Donato's son Anthony said his father told him that some of his duty in Korea was a bit scary. Like the time his MASH unit was surrounded by North Korean troops in Yangju and he heard his name broadcast as a "war criminal."

The report was that he was conducting medical experiments on Korean civilians. Fortunately, his unit was not captured.

Tony described his father as "very intellectual with a really strong work ethic. He was very determined. He would say if you can't do your best at something, don't do it."

Bob and his wife, Susan, who is president and CEO of Green Tree Community Health Foundation, had a number of German shepherds, and when he was in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for surgery, he told her how much he missed the dogs.

Susan contacted hospital officials and got permission, with a minimum of red tape, to bring three German shepherds into the hospital to visit her husband.

She took the dogs through a back route to avoid the main lobby, and delivered them to a patio outside her husband's floor. He was then wheeled out to be with them.

The dogs - Zwei (two), Freudekin (Little Joy) and Kavo, short for Cavalier - were a hit with other patients as well.

"One woman said, 'Could you bring the dogs in to see my Dad?' " Susan said.

Bob Donato was born in Philadelphia to Fiorentino Donato and the former Sylvia Berecca. He graduated from Central High School, 179th Class, where he was one of four honor men.

He went on to the University of Pennsylvania and graduated from Hahnemann Medical School in 1948. He served his residency at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

Bob enlisted in the Army in 1952. He held the rank of captain when he was discharged in 1954.

When he returned to Philadelphia, he became associated with Jeanes Hospital. He worked in the laboratory and became chief of pathology and medical director.

After he retired from Jeanes, he continued to work at Presbyterian Medical Center, doing both clinical and anatomical pathology studies.

He married Susan Hansen in 1986.

Besides his wife and son, he is survived by another son, Geoffrey Donato; two daughters, Carrie Donato Morgan and Claire Donato; five stepchildren, Amy Hansen Meir, David Hansen, Peter Hansen, Matthew Hansen and Liz Hansen Hinds; a sister, Sylvia Marusi, and 12 grandchildren.

Services: Viewing 10 a.m. Saturday at the Jacob Ruth Funeral Home, 8413 Germantown Ave. Graveside services will follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Donations may be made to the American Red Cross Penn Jersey Region, 700 Spring Garden St., Philadelphia 19123.