Samuel L. Kountz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Samuel L. Kountz, M.D.
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| Born | October 20, 1930 |
| Died | December 23, 1981 Great Neck, N.Y.
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| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater | Stanford University, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences |
| Known for | Kidney Transplantation, Pioneering Kidney Research, discoveries, and inventions |
| Awards | Fulbright Award |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Kidney Transplantation |
| Institutions | Stanford University Medical Center, San Francisco General Hospital |
Dr. Samuel Lee Kountz Jr. (October 30, 1930 – December 23, 1981) was an amazing African-American kidney transplantation surgeon from Lexa, Arkansas. He was famous for his groundbreaking work in kidney transplants and for his discoveries in kidney science.
In 1961, while working at the Stanford University Medical Center, he performed the first successful kidney transplant between people who were not identical twins. This was a huge step forward in medicine! Six years later, he and his team at the University of California, San Francisco, helped create the Belzer kidney perfusion machine. This special device can keep kidneys healthy for up to 50 hours after they are removed from a donor. Today, this machine is used in hospitals and research labs all over the world.
Contents
Early Life and Medical Journey
Samuel Lee Kountz was born in Lexa, Arkansas, in 1930. He was the oldest son of a Baptist minister. When he was eight, he saw doctors help an injured friend. This experience made him want to become a physician himself.
He finished his early schooling in Lexa. After high school, he attended the Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College of Arkansas, which is now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He worked hard and graduated third in his class in 1952.
Becoming a Doctor
During his last year of college, Samuel met Senator J. William Fulbright. The Senator was impressed by Samuel's energy and helped him get into medical school. In 1954, Samuel was accepted into the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences with a full scholarship.
He earned his master's degree in chemistry in 1956 and his medical degree (M.D.) two years later. He then trained at San Francisco General Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine. It was at Stanford that he decided to make organ transplantation his life's work.
Key Discoveries and Contributions
Even while still training in 1961, Dr. Kountz made history with the first kidney transplant from a non-twin donor. He also found that a strong medicine called methylprednisolone could help stop the body from rejecting a new kidney. He also discovered that giving a patient a second donor kidney early on could save their life if the first one was being rejected.
Dr. Kountz strongly believed in organ donation. In 1976, he even performed a kidney transplant live on The Today Show! This inspired about 20,000 people to offer to donate their kidneys. His research also improved how doctors match donors and patients, making kidney transplants more successful.
In 1972, Dr. Kountz became a Professor of Surgery and the head of the department at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. He also became the Surgeon-in-Chief at Kings County Hospital. He created the largest kidney transplant research and training program in the country at the University of California, San Francisco. By the time he passed away, he had personally performed about 500 kidney transplants, which was more than any other doctor in the world at that time.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Kountz wrote nearly 100 articles and reports and helped write many more. He received several important awards, including:
- The Young Investigator's Award from the American College of Cardiology in 1964.
- The Lederle Medical Faculty Award in 1967.
- Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of California, San Francisco in 1970.
- Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Arkansas in 1973.
- Honorary Doctor of Laws from Howard University in 1975.
- The Fulbright Award.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1977, while giving lectures in South Africa, Dr. Kountz became very ill with a brain disease. This illness made it impossible for him to communicate or care for himself. He passed away on December 23, 1981, at the age of 51. The exact cause of his illness was never fully known.
Even after his death, Dr. Kountz's impact continued. In 1980, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People created a special science award for African American students in his honor. Five years later, the first international meeting on kidney failure and transplantation in Black people was dedicated to his memory. His work continues to save lives and inspire new generations of doctors.
