Samuel L. Kountz
Encyclopedia
Dr. Samuel L. Kountz was an African American kidney transplantation
surgeon
from Lexa
, Arkansas
. He was most distinguished for his pioneering work in the field of kidney transplantations, and in research, discoveries, and inventions in Renal Science. In 1961, while working with Dr. Roy Cohn at the Stanford University Medical Center
, he performed the first successful Kidney transplant between humans who were not identical twins. Six years later, he and a team of researchers at the University of California
, San Francisco, developed the prototype for the Belzer kidney perfusion machine, a device that can preserve kidneys for up to 50 hours from the time they are taken from a donor's body. It is now standard equipment in hospitals and research laboratories around the world.
minister, J.S. Kountz, was born in Lexa
, Arkansas
, in 1930. He first became interested in medicine at the age of eight, when he accompanied an injured friend to a local hospital for emergency treatment. He was so moved by the doctors' ability to relieve his friend's suffering that he decided from that moment to become a physician. He completed his early education in Lexa, then spent three years at a Baptist boarding school for young people considering the ministry. He later graduated from Morris Booker College High School in Dermott, Arkansas
(Chicot County).
Although the school provided him with the discipline he needed, its academic program was inadequate, and he was forced to take remedial courses before gaining admission to the Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College of Arkansas (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
).
After much improvement, he graduated third in his class in 1952.
During his senior year, Kountz had met Senator J. William Fulbright
, who had once been president of the University of Arkansas
. Impressed by Kountz's energy and enthusiasm, Fulbright asked him what he planned to do following graduation. Kountz told him that he hoped to attend a black medical school, where he could realize his lifelong dream of becoming a surgeon. Fulbright urged him to consider the medical school at the University of Arkansas
, Little Rock, instead. Kountz applied but was rejected; he spent the next two years completing graduate work in chemistry at the university's Fayetteville campus. Then, on the basis of his accomplishments, he was awarded a full medical scholarship, and in 1954 became the first black student to be admitted to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
.
Kountz completed a master's degree in chemistry in 1956; two years later he received his M.D. He spent the next year as an intern with the highly competitive Stanford Service of San Francisco General Hospital
, and, in 1959, he began his surgical training at the Stanford University School of Medicine
. It was at Stanford that he studied under Dr. Roy Cohn, one of the pioneers in the field of organ transplantation, and decided to make transplant surgery his life's work. He was still a resident in 1961, when he and Dr. Cohn made medical history by performing the first kidney transplant using a non-twin donor. Among Kountz's other contributions were the discovery that large doses of the steroid drug methylprednisolone
could reverse acute rejection of a transplanted kidney, and that re-implantation (the implantation of a second donor kidney at the earliest indication that the first might be rejected) could mean the difference between the death and survival for transplant patients. A tireless proponent of organ donation, he once performed a kidney transplant on live television, The Today Show
, in 1976, inspiring some 20,000 viewers to offer their kidneys to patients who needed them. In addition, his groundbreaking research in the area of tissue typing helped improve the results of kidney transplantation and led to the increased use of kidneys from unrelated donors.
Kountz was appointed Professor of Surgery and Chairman of the Department at the State University of New York
(SUNY), Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1972 and Surgeon-in-Chief of Kings County Hospital
. The University of Arkansas
awarded him the honorary Juris Doctor
in 1973. He developed the largest kidney transplant research and training program in the country at the University of California, San Francisco
. Despite his success in human transplants, Dr. Kountz believes the chief source of healthy parts to replace malfunctioning ones will be primates because there are so many problems in obtaining and matching human donors.
At the time of his death, he had personally performed some 500 kidney transplants, the most performed by any physician in the world at that time.
, 1958-59; assistant resident, department of surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine
, 1959-62; Bank of America
Giannini fellow, Hammersmith Hospital
, London
, 1962-63; Stanford University School of Medicine
, senior resident, department of surgery, 1963-64, chief resident, 1964-65, instructor, department of surgery, 1965-66; visiting Fulbright Award
professor, United Arab Republic
, 1965-66; assistant professor, department of surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine
, 1966-67; associate professor, department of surgery, University of California, San Francisco
, School of Medicine, 1967-72, professor, 1972; professor and chairman, department of surgery, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn
, and chief of general surgery, Kings County Hospital Center, 1972-77.
, 1964; Diplomat, American Board of Surgeons, 1966; Lederle Medical Faculty Award, 1967; Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, University of California, San Francisco
, 1970; Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Arkansas
, 1973; Honorary Doctor of Laws, Howard University
, 1975, and the Fulbright Award
in 1977, Dr. Kountz contracted a crippling brain disease that left him neurologically impaired and confined to his bed, unable to communicate, or care for himself, for the rest of his life. His illness was never diagnosed, and he died on December 23, 1981, at the age of 51. In July of 1980 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
presented an Afro- Academic, Technological, and Scientific Olympics program award, which is a special high school science award for African American
students, in his honor. Five years later the World's First International Symposium on Renal (kidney) Failure in Blacks was dedicated to his memory.
Kidney transplantation
Kidney transplantation or renal transplantation is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage renal disease. Kidney transplantation is typically classified as deceased-donor or living-donor transplantation depending on the source of the donor organ...
surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
from Lexa
Lexa, Arkansas
Lexa is a city in Phillips County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 331 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lexa is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. He was most distinguished for his pioneering work in the field of kidney transplantations, and in research, discoveries, and inventions in Renal Science. In 1961, while working with Dr. Roy Cohn at the Stanford University Medical Center
Stanford University Medical Center
Stanford University Medical Center represents the Stanford Hospital and the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and is located at 300 Pasteur Drive in Stanford, California. Stanford Hospital provides both general acute care services and tertiary medical care for patients locally, nationally and...
, he performed the first successful Kidney transplant between humans who were not identical twins. Six years later, he and a team of researchers at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, San Francisco, developed the prototype for the Belzer kidney perfusion machine, a device that can preserve kidneys for up to 50 hours from the time they are taken from a donor's body. It is now standard equipment in hospitals and research laboratories around the world.
Early Life and Career
Samuel Lee Kountz, the eldest son of a BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister, J.S. Kountz, was born in Lexa
Lexa, Arkansas
Lexa is a city in Phillips County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 331 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lexa is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, in 1930. He first became interested in medicine at the age of eight, when he accompanied an injured friend to a local hospital for emergency treatment. He was so moved by the doctors' ability to relieve his friend's suffering that he decided from that moment to become a physician. He completed his early education in Lexa, then spent three years at a Baptist boarding school for young people considering the ministry. He later graduated from Morris Booker College High School in Dermott, Arkansas
Dermott, Arkansas
Dermott is a city in Chicot County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 3,292 at the 2000 census. Dermott was incorporated in 1890.Dermott is home to the Dermott Crawfish Festival.-Geography:Dermott is located at ....
(Chicot County).
Although the school provided him with the discipline he needed, its academic program was inadequate, and he was forced to take remedial courses before gaining admission to the Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College of Arkansas (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a historically black university located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1873, it is the oldest HBCU and the second oldest public institution in the state of Arkansas . UAPB is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
).
After much improvement, he graduated third in his class in 1952.
During his senior year, Kountz had met Senator J. William Fulbright
J. William Fulbright
James William Fulbright was a United States Senator representing Arkansas from 1945 to 1975.Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist who supported the creation of the United Nations and the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...
, who had once been president of the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
. Impressed by Kountz's energy and enthusiasm, Fulbright asked him what he planned to do following graduation. Kountz told him that he hoped to attend a black medical school, where he could realize his lifelong dream of becoming a surgeon. Fulbright urged him to consider the medical school at the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
, Little Rock, instead. Kountz applied but was rejected; he spent the next two years completing graduate work in chemistry at the university's Fayetteville campus. Then, on the basis of his accomplishments, he was awarded a full medical scholarship, and in 1954 became the first black student to be admitted to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is part of the University of Arkansas System, a state-run university in the U.S. state of Arkansas...
.
Kountz completed a master's degree in chemistry in 1956; two years later he received his M.D. He spent the next year as an intern with the highly competitive Stanford Service of San Francisco General Hospital
San Francisco General Hospital
San Francisco General Hospital is the main public hospital in San Francisco, California, and the only Level I Trauma Center serving San Francisco and northern San Mateo County...
, and, in 1959, he began his surgical training at the Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine is a leading medical school located at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California. Originally based in San Francisco, California as Cooper Medical College, it is the oldest continuously running medical school in the western United States...
. It was at Stanford that he studied under Dr. Roy Cohn, one of the pioneers in the field of organ transplantation, and decided to make transplant surgery his life's work. He was still a resident in 1961, when he and Dr. Cohn made medical history by performing the first kidney transplant using a non-twin donor. Among Kountz's other contributions were the discovery that large doses of the steroid drug methylprednisolone
Methylprednisolone
Methylprednisolone is a synthetic glucocorticoid or corticosteroid drug. It is marketed in the USA and Canada under the brand names Medrol and Solu-Medrol. It is also available as a generic drug....
could reverse acute rejection of a transplanted kidney, and that re-implantation (the implantation of a second donor kidney at the earliest indication that the first might be rejected) could mean the difference between the death and survival for transplant patients. A tireless proponent of organ donation, he once performed a kidney transplant on live television, The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
, in 1976, inspiring some 20,000 viewers to offer their kidneys to patients who needed them. In addition, his groundbreaking research in the area of tissue typing helped improve the results of kidney transplantation and led to the increased use of kidneys from unrelated donors.
Kountz was appointed Professor of Surgery and Chairman of the Department at the State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
(SUNY), Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1972 and Surgeon-in-Chief of Kings County Hospital
Kings county hospital
Kings County Hospital Center is a hospital located at 451 Clarkson Avenue in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City. It is under the umbrella of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation , the municipal agency which runs New York City's public hospitals.According to the HHC, "Kings County...
. The University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
awarded him the honorary Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1973. He developed the largest kidney transplant research and training program in the country at the University of California, San Francisco
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
. Despite his success in human transplants, Dr. Kountz believes the chief source of healthy parts to replace malfunctioning ones will be primates because there are so many problems in obtaining and matching human donors.
At the time of his death, he had personally performed some 500 kidney transplants, the most performed by any physician in the world at that time.
Background and education
Intern, Stanford Service, San Francisco General HospitalSan Francisco General Hospital
San Francisco General Hospital is the main public hospital in San Francisco, California, and the only Level I Trauma Center serving San Francisco and northern San Mateo County...
, 1958-59; assistant resident, department of surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine is a leading medical school located at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California. Originally based in San Francisco, California as Cooper Medical College, it is the oldest continuously running medical school in the western United States...
, 1959-62; Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
Giannini fellow, Hammersmith Hospital
Hammersmith Hospital
Hammersmith Hospital is a major teaching hospital in West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and is associated with the Imperial College Faculty of Medicine...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 1962-63; Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine is a leading medical school located at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California. Originally based in San Francisco, California as Cooper Medical College, it is the oldest continuously running medical school in the western United States...
, senior resident, department of surgery, 1963-64, chief resident, 1964-65, instructor, department of surgery, 1965-66; visiting Fulbright Award
Fulbright Award
The Fulbright Award is a scholarship awarded as part of the Fulbright Program to foster international research and collaboration. The program also awards a fellowship to Ph.D.'s to lecture and teach in foreign universities...
professor, United Arab Republic
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic , often abbreviated as the U.A.R., was a sovereign union between Egypt and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961, when Syria seceded from the union. Egypt continued to be known officially as the "United Arab Republic" until 1971. The President was Gamal...
, 1965-66; assistant professor, department of surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine is a leading medical school located at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California. Originally based in San Francisco, California as Cooper Medical College, it is the oldest continuously running medical school in the western United States...
, 1966-67; associate professor, department of surgery, University of California, San Francisco
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
, School of Medicine, 1967-72, professor, 1972; professor and chairman, department of surgery, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, and chief of general surgery, Kings County Hospital Center, 1972-77.
Awards and Honors
Over the years, Kountz produced close to 100 articles and investigative reports and co-authored dozens more. He has been a recipient of the Young Investigator's Award, American College of CardiologyAmerican College of Cardiology
The American College of Cardiology is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949 to advocate for quality cardiovascular care through education, research promotion, development and application of standards and guidelines, and to influence health care policy...
, 1964; Diplomat, American Board of Surgeons, 1966; Lederle Medical Faculty Award, 1967; Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, University of California, San Francisco
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
, 1970; Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
, 1973; Honorary Doctor of Laws, Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, 1975, and the Fulbright Award
Fulbright Award
The Fulbright Award is a scholarship awarded as part of the Fulbright Program to foster international research and collaboration. The program also awards a fellowship to Ph.D.'s to lecture and teach in foreign universities...
Illness and Death
While on a lecture tour in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1977, Dr. Kountz contracted a crippling brain disease that left him neurologically impaired and confined to his bed, unable to communicate, or care for himself, for the rest of his life. His illness was never diagnosed, and he died on December 23, 1981, at the age of 51. In July of 1980 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
presented an Afro- Academic, Technological, and Scientific Olympics program award, which is a special high school science award for African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
students, in his honor. Five years later the World's First International Symposium on Renal (kidney) Failure in Blacks was dedicated to his memory.