John Najarian facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John S. Najarian
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| Born | December 22, 1927 |
| Died | September 1, 2020 (aged 92) |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley |
| Relatives | Pete Najarian (son) |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Surgeon |
| Institutions | University of Minnesota |
| Sub-specialties | Organ transplants |
John Sarkis Najarian (born December 22, 1927 – died September 1, 2020) was an American surgeon. He was a professor at the University of Minnesota. John Najarian was a leader in organ transplant surgery. He helped many people by performing life-saving operations.
Early Life and Football
John Najarian was born in Oakland, California. His parents were immigrants from Armenia. He went to the University of California, Berkeley to study medicine. While at college, he was also a talented football player. He played as an offensive tackle for the college team. He even played in a big game called the 1949 Rose Bowl.
A Career in Transplants
After college, John Najarian became a very successful transplant surgeon. He joined the University of Minnesota. In 1967, he became the head of the surgery department there. He built a special program for organ transplants. He became a leader in kidney, liver, and pancreas transplants.
John Najarian led the surgery department at the University of Minnesota Medical School for many years, from 1967 to 1993. He wrote almost a thousand articles about medicine. He also helped start the American Society of Transplant Surgeons. He was its fourth president.
His special training program helped many future transplant surgeons. It also included surgeons from minority groups. One of them was Clive O. Callender. Dr. Callender later started a transplant program at Howard University College of Medicine.
Dr. Najarian did important work with kidney transplants for children in the 1970s. He also worked on liver transplants for young patients. He even helped patients with very difficult health problems that other doctors could not fix.
One of his most famous operations was a liver transplant in 1982. He performed it at the University of Minnesota. His patient was a baby named Jaime Fiske.
Family Life
John Najarian was married to Mignette for 67 years. She passed away in 2019. John Najarian died on September 1, 2020, in Stillwater, Minnesota. He was 92 years old.
He and Mignette had four sons. Two of their sons, Jon Najarian and Pete Najarian, used to play football in the NFL. They are also well-known market analysts on CNBC. Their son Paul passed away in 2014 from ALS.
See also
In Spanish: John Najarian para niños
