Marc Koska
Marc Koska
Marc Andrew Koska OBEis best known for inventing the non-reusable K1 auto-disable syringe, thus preventing the medical transmission of blood-borne diseases...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionInventor
Date of Birth14 March 1961
article bit cause design major mouth predicted product project
I read a newspaper article in May 1984 which predicted that syringes would one day be a major cause of the transmission of HIV. It was what I had been waiting for - a project that had a lot of the things that I liked: problem-solving, product design, campaigning, and being a bit of a big mouth pain-in-the-bum.
burden five four government massive recognised sterile
The Tanzanian government recognised there is a problem: that they don't have enough sterile syringes, that they are being reused probably four or five times each, and that this reuse is a massive contributor to their burden of healthcare.
announced goes government programmes
A number of immunisation programmes are funded and announced by the government and international bodies, but little thought goes into the injecting or delivery mechanism.
cases given injections spread
Twenty-two million cases of hepatitis B are spread every year because of the reuse of syringes. The WHO says one in two injections given is unsafe.