It all started with the first artificial kidney invented by Professor Nils Alwall. Soon after, in 1964, Gambro was founded when industrialist Holger Crafoord felt he had to develop and market this life saving innovation.

Initial development began in Lund, Sweden and we soon began doing business under the name Gambro, the Swedish abbreviation for "Gamla Brogatans Sjukvårdsaffär Aktiebolag." Roughly translated, that means "Old Bridge Street Medical Supplies Company."

We began mass production of single-use artificial kidneys and dialysis machines in 1967. Our first plant outside Sweden was built in Hechingen, Germany in the 1970s.

Over the years, significant acquisitions have helped broaden our range of products and services. Hospal, COBE, REN and Vivra are now all part of the Gambro family. Today we make dialysis products, operate dialysis clinics, and supply blood bank technology worldwide. These three business fields are formally known as Gambro Renal Products, Gambro Healthcare, and Gambro BCT.

Publicly listed on the Stockholm stock exchange in 1983, we have gradually become a global leader in renal care, healthcare services and blood-component technologies.