The surgeon who led Europe's first liver transplant died on Saturday at the age of 93 in eastern England, his family announced.
Sir Roy Calne, a professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge, has died in Cambridge, his family announced, according to the Associated Press. report.
Widely known as one of the fathers of organ transplantation, along with Iowa-born physician Dr. Thomas Starzl, Mr. Calun was influenced by his father, who worked as a mechanic, to explore the field of organ transplantation, which was impossible at the time, in his 20s. The Associated Press pointed out that he was interested in.
Karun reportedly performed the first organ transplant in a dog and was the first to demonstrate in 1960 that certain drugs could prevent organ transplant rejection. The paper said he performed a successful liver transplant at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge in 1968, but the patient died of an infection two months later.
According to the Associated Press, Karun developed the idea of immunosuppressive chemotherapy and was the first to develop and administer cyclosporine as an anti-graft rejection drug. This has improved outcomes for transplant patients and led to widespread acceptance of immunosuppressants in clinical practice, the newspaper reported.
Mr. Karun performed the first triple transplant involving a liver, lung, and heart in 1986, and in 1994 led a six-fold transplant involving a liver, kidney, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, and pancreas.
For his work, Mr. Calun was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the equivalent of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1986. (Related: Prominent European politician dies at age 98)
A painting by transplant surgeon and artist Roy Calne, who passed away yesterday. pic.twitter.com/Z6yftkbzsw
— John Platt (@john_splatt) January 7, 2024
Calne's liver transplant program was the first in Europe and the second in the world after Starzl in 1967. According to the University of Pittsburgh. The two surgeons reportedly exchanged ideas in the early 1960s. According to , both surgeons were joint recipients of the Lasker DeBakey Clinical Medicine Research Award in 2012. lasker foundation.
Karun is also an artist, and his drawings and paintings have been featured in Laskar Foundation exhibitions. I got it.. He described himself as having a “slightly rebellious personality” and said, “I've always tended to hate being told I can't do something.”
I am very sorry to hear that Sir Roy Calne is no longer with us.
In 1993, as a young registrar, I attended a liver symposium where he was a speaker. I drew a picture of him. I shyly showed it to him and he very kindly signed it for me. That is below.
Liver surgery has lost one of its giants. pic.twitter.com/5u948SWYfH— Satyajit Bhattacharya (@satya_surgeon) January 7, 2024
Mike More, Chairman of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Sir Roy has left a truly wonderful legacy and his many staff will remember him fondly for his vision and genuine kindness. I guess so,” he said. Said.
