Thomas Starzl, the ‘father of transplantation,’ dies at age 90

Thomas E. Starzl, MD, PhD, widely known as the “father of transplantation," has died at the age of 90 in his Pittsburg home. Starzl is credited with advancing transplantations from risky ventures to more feasible surgeries for many at-need patients.

Starzls performed the world’s first successful liver transplant in 1967. Starzl helped develop azathioprine and corticosteroid immunosuppression in 1980, helping to make the transplantation process a safer procedure. This advancement lead directly to transplants on patients with end-stage liver, kidney and heart disease.

Over the course of his career, Starzl received more than 200 award and honors including the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award from the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation in 2012; the 2004 Presidential National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest scientific honor; the David M. Hume Memorial Award from the National Kidney Foundation; and the Brookdale Award in Medicine presented by the American Medical Association Board of Trustees and the Brookdale Foundation.