Roy Yorke Calne

Who is Roy Yorke Calne?

Sir Roy Yorke Calne, FRCP, FRCS, FRS, is a British surgeon and pioneer in organ transplantation; he performed the first liver transplantation operation in Europe in 1968. His surgical procedures also laid claim to many other pioneering successes in his career: the world's first liver, heart, and lung transplant in 1987; the first intestinal transplant in the U.K. in 1992, and the first successful combined stomach, intestine, pancreas, liver, and kidney cluster transplant in 1994.

Calne is a fellow of the Royal Society and was Professor of Surgery at Cambridge University between 1965 and 1998 where he initiated the kidney transplant program. He was Harkness Fellow at Harvard Medical School from 1960-61. Much of his subsequent work focused on the improvement of immunosuppression techniques aimed at prolonging the life of liver transplant recipients. He is currently the Yoah Ghim Professor of Surgery at the National University of Singapore.

He was elected to the Royal Society in 1974. He was awarded the 1984 Lister Medal for his contributions to surgical science. The corresponding Lister Oration, given at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, was delivered on 21 May 1985, and was titled 'Organ transplantation: from laboratory to clinic'. He was knighted as Knight Bachelor, in 1986. In 1990 he received the Ellison-Cliffe Medal from the Royal Society of Medicine. His portrait, commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, was painted by John Bellany in 1991. In 2012, Calne was awarded the prestigious Lasker Award, 'for the development of liver transplantation, which has restored normal life to thousands of patients with end-stage liver disease.'.