[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5569]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



              RECOGNIZING THE WORK OF DR. THOMAS E. STARZL

 Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, it is my privilege to rise today 
to recognize the accomplishments of a living legend. Transplant pioneer 
Thomas E. Starzl performed the world's first liver transplant in 1963 
and the first successful series of kidney transplants between 
nonidentical twins between 1963 and 1964, and he has for four decades 
continued to make equally extraordinary advancements in the field of 
organ transplantation.
  This coming April 27, Dr. Starzl's former students and colleagues, 
representing the span of those 40 years, will pay tribute to Dr. Starzl 
as he enters emeritus status at the University of Pittsburgh. It will 
be a celebration much to Dr. Starzl's liking--an academic gathering in 
order to share important scientific information.
  Dr. Starzl is a pioneer. His work has had lasting influence and 
utility in the field of transplantation and on other fields of medicine 
as well. His legacy has and will continue to make an impact on us all.
  In 1980 he developed a combination of drugs that transformed 
transplantation of the liver and heart from an experimental procedure 
to a standard treatment for patients with end-stage organ failure. In 
1989, his development of another drug markedly improved survival rates 
for all kinds of transplants and made possible for the first time 
successful transplantation of the small intestine.
  When Pittsburgh welcomed him 20 years ago, we had no idea the 
incredible contributions this man would make to medicine and mankind. 
Indeed, the city has enjoyed an enhanced reputation because he chose to 
make the University of Pittsburgh his academic home. This year marks 
the 20th anniversary of the first liver transplant he performed in 
Pittsburgh. Since then, surgeons at the University of Pittsburgh and 
the UPMC Health System have performed nearly 6,000 liver transplants 
and more than 11,300 transplants of all organs. These numbers set the 
world standard, by far.
  But Dr. Starzl's work goes far beyond Pittsburgh--he is truly a 
national treasure. He is one of history's greatest surgeons, someone 
who made saving a life routine. Even patients who have not been under 
his direct care have benefitted from his work. In fact, most of the 
world's transplant surgeons and physicians have been trained by Dr. 
Starzl or by those trained by him. By this standard alone his impact is 
immeasurable and permanent. He has forever changed and improved health 
care delivery as we know it.
  Dr. Starzl, please know that every American is indebted to you for 
your hard work, your refusal to take no for an answer, and most of all, 
for your genius and skill as a surgeon and a researcher. The world is a 
better place because you chose to make Pittsburgh your home.

                          ____________________