World-renowned surgeon Prof. Dr. Münci Kalayoğlu passes away at 84

Prof. Dr. Münci Kalayoğlu, known as one of the world's leading authorities on organ transplantation and the first Turkish doctor to perform a liver transplant, has passed away.

Prof. Dr. Münci Kalayoğlu, who bid farewell to life at the age of 84, had been receiving treatment for dementia for some time and had suffered a brain hemorrhage in August.

WHO IS PROF. DR. MÜNCİ KALAYOĞLU?

Born in Ankara in 1940, Münci Kalayoğlu was the first Turkish doctor to perform a liver transplant.

Having performed more than two thousand liver transplant operations, Kalayoğlu is considered one of the best surgeons in the world.

Prof. Dr. Münci Kalayoğlu, who held honorary doctorates from METU, Ege University, Süleyman Demirel University, and Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, was a graduate of the Ankara University Faculty of Medicine.

Following his medical education at Ankara University, Kalayoğlu received general surgery training as an assistant to İhsan Doğramacı at the Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine. He completed a surgical internship at the New York Mount Sinai School of Medicine between 1967 and 1968. Between 1968 and 1970, he conducted specialization studies in pediatric surgery at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Due to his contributions to the field of medicine with his achievements in organ transplantation and pediatric surgery, Kalayoğlu was awarded a science medal by the Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Medicine. During a presentation at the ceremony held for the presentation of the medal, Kalayoğlu took the stage with 7-year-old Münci Ata, the son of his patient Ahu Gül Özkan—whom he had performed a liver transplant on—who was born two years after the transplant and named after his doctor.