Professor Bruce Hall and the ABC

To the Editor: In 2004 the Journal published an editorial entitled “Managing allegations of scientific misconduct and fraud: lessons from the ‘Hall affair' ”.1 The editorial referred to accusations made against Bruce Hall, a professor at the University of New South Wales, which were broadcast by medical journalist Norman Swan on two episodes of the “Science Show”, a weekly program of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Recently, a judgment was entered, with the consent of the ABC and Swan, in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in favour of Hall in his defamation case against Swan and the ABC. In addition to removing the broadcast from its website the ABC stated in court that it “regrets any overshadowing of Professor Hall's major research achievements in immune tolerance and the effects of the broadcasts on his ongoing research”.2

Now that this judgment has been finalised, we believe it is timely, as his peers, to acknowledge the very significant contributions Hall has made to the field of transplantation over the past 30 years.3-5 In doing so we believe it is important to stress that all of these contributions have been validated by other research groups, a process which remains the best available test of scientific integrity.

We represent 49 senior international and Australian academics and researchers in transplantation and immunology, including eight presidents of the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand and three presidents of the equivalent international body, The Transplantation Society (see Box for full list of signatories). It is our sincere hope that the damage to Hall's reputation can now be repaired and that he be given the opportunity to re-establish his research career without further impediment.