Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On March 4, 2017, Dr. Thomas Starzl passed away. Originally from LeMars, Starzl performed the first human liver transplant and often gains fame as "the father of modern transplantation."
The son of newspaper editor and science fiction writer Roman Frederick Starzl and Anna Laura Fitzgerald, a teacher and a nurse, Starzl decided to study medicine after his mother died from breast cancer in 1947. After attending Westminster College in Missouri and Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, Starzl trained in surgery at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.
Starzl performed the first human liver transplant in 1963 and the first successful human liver transplant in 1967, both at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Also credited with developing multiple technical advances in organ preservation, procurement, and transplant, Starzl built a legacy as an innovative surgeon and doctor.
A documentary, "Burden of Genius," covering the medical and scientific advances spearheaded by Starzl himself, was released in 2017. In 1992, Dr. Starzl also penned an autobiography, "The Puzzle People: Memoirs Of A Transplant Surgeon. " #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar
