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In This Issue:
BWH Honored at American Transplant Congress 2004
Chair of the Department of Surgery Michael Zinner, MD, and BWH President Gary L. Gottlieb, MD, MBA, offered words of welcome, followed by opening remarks by Murray himself. As Murray, a Nobel Prize in Medicine recipient, made his way to the podium, attendees greeted him with a standing ovation.
“My wife, six children and 16 grandchildren are my home,” said Murray, standing alongside his wife. “But the Brigham is my second home.”
During the evening, Murray was lauded for his many achievements, including the first successful human organ transplant between two identical twins on December 23, 1954; the first successful transplant of a kidney from a non-identical donor to a recipient, who was immunosupressed by radiation on January 24, 1959; and the introduction of immunosuppression on April 6, 1962.
Event organizers Dr. Nicholas Tilney of BWH and Dr. Hugh Auchincloss of MGH offered personal thanks to Murray and shared stories of their respective experiences with him. “Dr. Murray taught me many things, but two that have always remained with me through the years are composure and competition. It has been a great privilege to work with him. He not only changed my career; he changed my life,” said Tilney.
Original kidney donor Ronald Herrick also offered a few words saying, “On behalf of every person who has had a transplant over the years, I’d like to say thank you very much. We owe it all to Dr. Murray.”
The dinner concluded with a final presentation by Sir Roy Calne, MD, Professor of Surgery Emeritus, Cambridge University, England. A close personal friend and colleague of Murray’s, Calne led the audience through a slide show, providing images of Murray and the original transplant team. “We salute you, Joe. We are indebted to you for your guidance, your teaching, and of course, for your many contributions to organ transplantation as we know it today,” he said.