Obituary Dr. Francisco Javier Farrerons Co

R. Pelta Fernández
Historian of the Spanish
Society of Allergology and
Clinical Immunology.
Obituary
Dr. Francisco Javier Farrerons Co
Alergol Inmunol Clin 2000;15:273-274
It was on the twenty-second of May last that this illustrious Allergologist’s
life came to its end in Sitges. Born in Barcelona, on the 29 th of June 1906,
he was contemporary with Drs. Alemany (1898-1990), Frouchtman (1906-
1987) and Surinyach (1903-1991), the pioneers of the very fruitful Catalonian
Allergology School of the years after our Civil War. Francisco Javier Farrerons
was a physician’s son and studied Medicine in Barcelona, completing his career
in 1931. He then went on with his postgraduate studies at that same Medical
School, concluding them with a brilliant Doctoral Thesis on "Norepinephrine in
Allergy and in Other Diseases". This was the beginning and cornerstone of the
solid scientific foundation that would later allow him to become associated to
the Chair of Medical Clinics of the eminent Professor Agustín Pedro Pons,
where he headed the first Dispensary for Allergic Diseases to be established in
our country. The first one, and already in the ‘30s, even though the origins of
Allergology as a Speciality in Spain date back to the early ‘20s, with the work
of Jiménez Díaz and Sánchez-Cuenca in Madrid and Cruz Auñón in Seville. In
due time, Dr. Farrerons became the Head of the Allergy Dispensary of the
Chair of General Medical Pathology in the University Hospital in Barcelona,
under the direction of Professor Arturo Fernández-Cruz first and of Professor
Balcells Gorina later on. After his pensioning it would be his daughter, Dr. María
del Mar Farrerons (at present in private Allergology practice in Barcelona)
who would continue her father’s work at the General Medical Pathology Chair.
Besides his work at the University, Dr. Farrerons was for many years Head of
the Allergology Department at the "Sagrado Corazón" Hospital in the town that
gave him birth.
Dr. Farrerons published his first works in the field of Allergology in 1934.
This discipline absorbed so much of his work and energy that, according to his
daughter, it became incorporated into his daily life to the point of being a habitual
subject of discussion and comment at family meetings.
Conversant since his youth with the German, French and English languages,
Dr. Farrerons moved in 1946 to the USA as a Honorary Scholar of the Superior
Council for Scientific Research of Spain; there he expanded his studies
and knowledge in New York and Detroit and, in that same year of 1946, became
a Honorary Member of the American College of Allergists. From that time
onwards, yearly visits to the USA in order to keep abreast of developments in
Allergology became normal for him.
A personal friend of Professor Carlos Jiménez Díaz, he was one of the
founders, together with him and with Dr. Carlos Lahoz Marqués, of the Spanish
Society of Allergology, on the 31 st day of May 1947. That date represents a milestone
in History for us present-day Allergologists, as it marks the turning
point between the "before" and the "afterwards" in the scientific consolidation
of a field of knowledge within the vast perspective of the Health Care Sciences,
273

R. Pelta Fernández
the importance of which has continuously grown –and
burgeoned– with the passage of time.
A born researcher and investigator, Dr. Farrerons performed
interesting experimental observations at the Institute
of Physiology in Barcelona, in 1947, under the direction
of Professor Jiménez Vargas, subjecting anaesthetised dogs
to the effects of a number of drugs in order to ascertain the
changes induced in the blood histamine levels. In the editorial
field, he published well over a hundred works on his
Speciality, among them the books "Lo Esencial en Alergia"
("Essentials in Allergy", 1948) and "Alergia y Paralergia"
("Allergy and Para-Allergy", 1987). A copy of the latter
occupies pride of place in my library with the handwritten
dedication of the author, who furthermore kindly provided
274
me his Curriculum Vitae and a list of his publications at
the time when I was preparing my own Doctoral Thesis.
Some years ago, in the course of one of the "Closure Sessions"
of the Catalan Society of Allergology, I had the pleasure
of meeting him in person together with his daughter
María del Mar. My lasting impression was that of a charming
man, full of kindness and intelligence.
Dr. María del Mar Farrerons, his daughter, recently
told me that her father was proud of his second family name,
"Co", and it is true that, when he sent me his Curriculum
Vitae, he signed it "Dr. J. Farrerons-Co". I also remember
that, in the course of a conversation with another
already deceased pioneer of Spanish Allergology, Professor
Angel Ortega Núñez, he referred to Dr. Farrerons with
respect and admiration and pointed out that he war arguably
the one man in Spain with the shortest family name,
not at all in keeping with his scientific height.
As a personal habit, Dr. Farrerons played golf –in
our days quite an à la mode sport– well into his eighties,
saying that this helped him stay in full form. He also dedicated
his last years, not out of obligation but simply as a
hobby, to the preparation of a book on the History of Medicine
called "Las Dos Medicinas" ("The Two Medicines"),
which was published by Espaxs in 1997.
May this illustrious Catalan physician and scientist,
whom we have regrettably lost, rest in peace!