Joseph Murray
| Joseph Murray | |
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| Born | Joseph Edward Murray April 1, 1919 Milford, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | November 26, 2012 (aged 93) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Residence | Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States of America |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Plastic surgery, reconstructive surgery, transplantation |
| Alma mater | College of the Holy Cross and Harvard Medical School |
| Known for | First successful Kidney transplant |
| Notable awards | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 |
Joseph Edward Murray (April 1, 1919 – November 26, 2012) was an American plastic surgeon who performed the first successful human kidney transplant on identical twins Richard and Ronald Herrick on December 23, 1954.
Murray shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 with E. Donnall Thomas for their discoveries concerning "organ and cell transplantation in the treatment of human disease."
Murray was born to William A. and Mary (née DePasquale) Murray, and grew up in Milford, Massachusetts. He was of the Irish and Italian descent. A star athlete at the Milford High School, he excelled in football, ice hockey, and baseball. Upon graduation, Murray attended the College of the Holy Cross intending to play baseball; however, baseball practices and lab schedules conflicted; forcing him to give up baseball. He studied philosophy and English, earning a degree in humanities in 1940. Murray later attended Harvard Medical School. After graduating with his medical degree, Murray began his internship at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. During that time, he was inducted into the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army.
He served in the plastic surgery unit at Valley Forge General Hospital in Pennsylvania. At Valley Forge General Hospital for an esteemed plastic surgeon, Dr. Bradford Cannon, and developed a lifelong passion for plastic surgery. His unit cared for thousands of soldiers wounded on the battlefields of World War II, working to reconstruct their disfigured hands and faces. His interest in transplantation grew out of working with burn patients during his time in the Army. Murray and his colleagues observed that the burn victims rejected temporary skin grafts from unrelated donors much more slowly than had been expected, suggesting the potential for organ grafts, or transplants.
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