[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 48 (Wednesday, April 4, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E534]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN RECOGNITION OF DR. THOMAS E. STARZL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN P. MURTHA

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 4, 2001

  Mr. MURTHA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to Dr. Thomas E. 
Starzl, a pioneer in the field of organ transplantation, on this year's 
20th anniversary of the first liver transplant performed in Pittsburgh.
  Born on March 11, 1926 in LeMars, Iowa, Dr. Starzl received a 
bachelor's degree in biology at Westminster College before going on to 
earn a master's degree in anatomy, a Ph.D. in neurophysiology, and an 
M.D. with distinction at Northwestern University Medical School. 
Following postgraduate work and a number of surgical fellowships and 
residencies, he returned to Northwestern University to serve on its 
faculty. Dr. Starzl moved on to the University of Colorado School of 
Medicine in 1962, and performed the world's first human liver 
transplant the following year.
  Dr. Starzl joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 
which already had an established kidney transplant program, in 1981 as 
a professor of surgery. On February 26 of that year he performed the 
region's first liver transplant. Amazingly, of the 30 transplant 
patients that first year, 11 are still alive today because of Dr. 
Starzl's commitment to the great promise of the procedure despite 
earlier failed attempts.
  A major factor in the success of organ transplantation is the 
development of immunosuppressant drugs. Dr. Starzl was instrumental in 
this development, which advanced transplantation to an accepted form of 
treatment for patients with end-stage diseases of the liver, kidney and 
heart. It also shed light on the possibility that other organs could be 
successfully transplanted.
  With Dr. Starzl as chief, the University of Pittsburgh transplant 
program soon became the largest in the world. In the past two decades, 
over 11,300 transplants have been performed at UPMC Presbyterian, 
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare 
System, and major advances by university faculty have had a tremendous 
impact on the entire field of transplantation. Among the countless 
``firsts'' for this transplant program are the world's first 
multivisceral transplant, heart/liver transplant, and heart/liver/
kidney transplant.
  From the first successful liver transplant in 1967, through the 
development of surgical techniques and anti-rejection drugs that 
revolutionized the field, to his pioneering efforts at 
xenotransplantation, Dr. Starzl is among the most cited scientists in 
the field of clinical medicine. Now retired from clinical practice, he 
continues to influence all aspects of organ transplantation as director 
emeritus of the institute that now bears his name, the Thomas E. Starzl 
Transplantation Institute.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in honoring Dr. Tom 
Starzl for his tireless devotion and countless accomplishments in the 
field of organ transplantation.

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