Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a teaching hospital affiliated with the Medical School, received a $15 million gift this week from oil and textile magnate Arthur Wellman and his wife Gullan to build a new research center.

The gift is probably the largest single contribution ever made to a United States teaching hospital, Martin S. Bander, deputy to the general director at MGH, said yesterday.

The new facility promises to solve the "major problem" of space shortage at MGH, which has resulted in "research being compromised" in the past, Dr. John A. Parrish, associated professor of Dermatology, said yesterday.

The new center will house research in areas including neurosciences, endocrinology, metabolism, aging and skin diseases, Bander said.

Because of the close connection between MGH and the Med School, "it is in some part (the Med School's) gift," Alan C. Olsson, dean for resources of the Med School, said yesterday. Parrish agreed, saying, "I suspect that most of the people using the facility will be affiliated with Harvard."

Best and the Brightest

The Wellmans chose MGH as the site of the new center because it is "the finest hospital in the nation equipped to deal with research," Wellman said yesterday. He added he gave to the center to "keep MGH tops."

Wellman said he and his wife first became acquainted with MGH at a dinner party five years ago, when another guest recommended that Mrs. Wellman seek help for her psoriasis at MGH, which had recently developed a new treatment for the disease.

After Mrs. Wellman had been successfully treated, she and her husband approached Parrish and other members of the Dermatology department and asked for a way to show their gratitude, Parrish said. They began by donating funds to establish Wellman Research Laboratories at the MGH department of Dermatology. Through this experience, Wellman said, he became "interested in research" and decided to give the new facility for additional research.

The announcement of the gift coincided with the beginning of a $114 million fund-raising campaign by MGH. The drive will raise funds to remodel the hospital's in-patient, out-patient and research facilities, MGH officials said yesterday.