THOMAS STARZL, THE PIONEER OF THE LIVER TRANSPLANT. A HISTORICAL REVIEW Marius Raica1 1Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Microscopic Morphology/Histology, Angiogenesis Research Center Timisoara, Romania *Corresponding Author: : Marius Raica, Professor of Histology, Department of Microscopic Morphology/Histology,E-mail: Angiogenesis Research Center Timișoara “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara, Eftimie Murguthought Square No. to 2, be 300041, the father Timișoara, of modernRomania organ transplant. INTRODUCTION
[email protected] Organ transplant is a fascinating field of modern medicine, and evolved in last one hundred years from A (VERY) SHORT BIOGRAPHY preclinical and experimental studies to current clinical Thomas Earl Starzl was born in LeMars, Iowa, application. Organ transplant is not a new idea, but for on March 11, 1926. As a teenager he wanted to be a many years it was limited to the homo- and heterografts priest, but he moved to medical studies after the dead of of the skin. Transplantation as science was born in the his mother by breast cancer in 1947. He studied at the beginning of the XXth century with early observations Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and graduated on the graft tolerance. A lot of efforts were done to with the degree of Bachelor of Science in biology. Then solve technique, immunological and ethical issues. Many he attended Northwestern University Medical School in famous scientists contributed to our understanding and Chicago, and in 1950 he received a Master of Science knowledge of organ transplant, like Schöne, Murphy, degree in anatomy. Two years later he earned a PhD in Carrel, Loeb, and many others, most of them almost neurophysiology and an MD with distinction Figure 1.