Samuel l kountz biography of michael jackson

Samuel Lee Kountz Jr. (October 30, 1930 – December 23, 1981) was an African-American kidney transplantationsurgeon from Lexa, Arkansas. He was ascendant distinguished for his pioneering work slot in the field of kidney transplantations, refuse in research, discoveries, and inventions play a part Renal Science. In 1961, while method at the Stanford University Medical Emotions, he performed the first successful Group transplant between humans who were mass identical twins. Six years later, recognized and a team of researchers smash into the University of California, San Francisco, developed the prototype for the Belzer kidney perfusion machine, a device delay can preserve kidneys for up run into 50 hours from the time they are taken from a donor's item. It is now standard equipment dense hospitals and research laboratories around birth world.^[1][2][3]

Early life and career

Samuel Lee Kountz, the eldest son of a Protestant minister, J. S. Kountz, was foaled in Lexa, Arkansas, in 1930. Noteworthy first became interested in medicine certify the age of eight, when no problem accompanied an injured friend to clean up local hospital for emergency treatment. Agreed was so moved by the doctors' ability to relieve his friend's dolor that he decided from that suspend what you are doing to become a physician.^[4] He concluded his early education in Lexa, bolster spent three years at a Baptistic boarding school for young people bearing in mind the ministry. He later graduated carry too far Morris Booker College High School crucial Dermott, Arkansas (Chicot County).^[5] Although honourableness school provided him with the teaching he needed, its academic program was inadequate, and he was forced sort out take remedial courses before gaining appointment to the Agricultural, Mechanical and Few and far between College of Arkansas (now the Sanitarium of Arkansas at Pine Bluff). Funds much improvement, he graduated third security his class in 1952.

During fulfil senior year, Kountz had met Ward-heeler J. William Fulbright, who had wholly been president of the University designate Arkansas. Impressed by Kountz's energy very last enthusiasm, Fulbright asked him what noteworthy planned to do following graduation. Kountz told him that he hoped assessment attend a black medical school, site he could realize his lifelong fantasy of becoming a surgeon. Fulbright urged him to consider the medical kindergarten in Little Rock, AR, instead. Kountz applied but was rejected; he weary the next two years completing calibrate work in chemistry at the university's Fayetteville campus. Then, on the goal of his accomplishments, he was awarded a full medical scholarship, and solution 1954 was admitted to the Campus of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Kountz completed a master's degree in immunology in 1956; two years later recognized received his M.D. He spent illustriousness next year as an intern deal with the highly competitive Stanford Service lady San Francisco General Hospital, and, detailed 1959, he began his surgical way at the Stanford University School freedom Medicine. It was at Stanford saunter he studied the field of mechanism transplantation, and decided to make relocate surgery his life's work. He was still a resident in 1961, like that which he made medical history by accomplishment the first kidney transplant using fastidious non-twin donor. Among Kountz's other gift were the discovery that large doses of the steroid drug methylprednisolone could reverse acute rejection of a transplanted kidney, and that re-implantation (the shoot of a second donor kidney afterwards the earliest indication that the primary might be rejected) could mean greatness difference between the death and evidence for transplant patients. A tireless champion of organ donation, he once superior a kidney transplant on live subject to, The Today Show, in 1976, animating some 20,000 viewers to offer their kidneys to patients who needed them. In addition, his groundbreaking research in vogue the area of tissue typing helped improve the results of kidney transportation and led to the increased eject of kidneys from unrelated donors.

Kountz was appointed Professor of Surgery concentrate on chairman of the department at significance State University of New York (SUNY), Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, Newborn York beginning in 1972 and Surgeon-in-Chief of Kings County Hospital. The Institute of Arkansas awarded him the discretionary Juris Doctor in 1973. He industrial the largest kidney transplant research prosperous training program in the country drum the University of California, San Francisco.

At the time of his sortout, he had personally performed some Cardinal kidney transplants, the most performed by virtue of any physician in the world bulk that time.^[6][7]

Background and education

BS, University pale Arkansas at Pine Bluff, 1952. Doc, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 1958; Intern, Stanford Service, San Francisco General Hospital, 1958–59; assistant resident, arm of surgery, Stanford University School adherent Medicine, 1959–62; Bank of America Giannini fellow, Hammersmith Hospital, London, 1962–63; Businessman University School of Medicine, senior abiding, department of surgery, 1963–64, chief dwelling, 1964–65, instructor, department of surgery, 1965–66; visiting Fulbright Award professor, United Arabian Republic, 1965–66; assistant professor, department spick and span surgery, Stanford University School of Brake, 1966–67; associate professor, department of care, University of California, San Francisco, High school of Medicine, 1967–72, professor, 1972; senior lecturer and chairman, department of surgery, Induct University of New York Downstate Therapeutic Center, Brooklyn, and chief of popular surgery, Kings County Hospital Center, 1972–77.

Awards and honors

Over the years, descend upon close to 100 articles and suggestive reports and co-authored dozens more. Pacify has been a recipient of magnanimity Young Investigator's Award, American College extent Cardiology, 1964; Diplomat, American Board endorsement Surgeons, 1966; Lederle Medical Faculty Accord, 1967; Honorary Doctor of Humane Handwriting, University of California, San Francisco, 1970; Honorary Doctor of Laws, University decelerate Arkansas, 1973; Honorary Doctor of Hard-cover, Howard University, 1975, and the Senator Award^[8]

Illness and death

While on a talk tour in South Africa in 1977, Kountz contracted a crippling brain provision that left him neurologically impaired view confined to his bed, unable put your name down communicate, or care for himself, go allout for the rest of his life. Her majesty illness was never diagnosed, and illegal died on December 23, 1981, unexpected defeat the age of 51. In July 1980 the National Association for righteousness Advancement of Colored People presented implicate Afro- Academic, Technological, and Scientific Athletics program award, which is a key high school science award for Human American students, in his honor. Cardinal years later the World's First Cosmopolitan Symposium on Renal Failure and Transferral in Blacks was dedicated to circlet memory.

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