Jean Kahan

Jean Catherine Kahan, born in Perth, was a UWA Science graduate of 1939. From 1940 she worked as a volunteer with Dr Cyril Fortune to organise blood grouping as her part of the war effort, taking samples from enlistees at Swanbourne Barracks. At the time only Melbourne had such a unit and on Dr Fortune’s advice the Army established a unit in each state. Jean later headed the WA Unit, and travelled to Melbourne to learn the processes, purchase necessary equipment and bring it back on the troop train. She labelled the delicate precision instruments ‘Eggs Handle with Care’ and carried it as personal luggage. The US Navy seconded two Laboratory Technicians to the Unit and she trained 25 women with no previous scientific background as assistants in the demanding tasks. Using items such as dairy cream separators, glass piping, and sourcing special filter pads from the Swan Brewery, the Unit relied on a locally-sourced refrigerated compartment. It was installed in the 110 Australian General Hospital, Pathology Department at Hollywood Repatriation Hospital. Jean served in the Australian Army, Australian Blood and Serum Preparation Unit, with the rank of Lieutenant, from 1942 until 1946. Jean remained a supporter of the UWA Art Gallery Collection, dedicated a scholarly research program in Chemistry named for her father Roual Kahan, and was an active member of Convocation.

Photograph from Christine and Murray Westphal Davies, R Everyone’s a Hero: Stories from the First Seventy-Five Years at an Amazing Hospital: Hollywood Private Hospital Ramsay Health Care 2010