Carl-Gustav Groth (15 October 1933 – 16 February 2014) was a Swedish

transplant surgeon A transplant surgeon is a surgeon who performs organ transplants. Among the many organs that can be transplanted are: kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs, the pancreas, the intestine (especially the small intestine), and recently, faces, tracheal (wind ...

. He studied in Colorado under the supervision of transplantation pioneer

Thomas Starzl Thomas Earl Starzl (March 11, 1926 – March 4, 2017) was an American physician, researcher, and expert on organ transplants. He performed the first human liver transplants, and has often been referred to as "the father of modern transplantatio ...

, and returned to Sweden to work at the

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consist ...

and

Karolinska University Hospital The Karolinska University Hospital ( sv, Karolinska universitetssjukhuset) is a teaching hospital affiliated with Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, with two major sites in the municipalities of Solna and Huddinge. The hospital network is ...

, where he performed the first pancreas, liver and islet cell transplantation surgeries in Sweden.

Early life

Groth was born in 1933 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

to Carl-Johan Groth, a businessman, and Margareta Groth (née Sonkin). He and his parents moved to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

during the Second World War, when he was aged 11. He studied medicine at the

, receiving an MD in 1961.

Career

Groth began his career at Serafimer Hospital in Stockholm, working in the department of surgery. He gained a PhD in 1965 with a thesis on

red blood cell Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "holl ...

aggregation in trauma. After deciding to focus on transplantation surgery, Groth was awarded a research fellowship from the United States

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

to study transplantation at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

under the supervision of

. When Starzl performed the first successful human

liver transplantation Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, al ...

in 1967, Groth was his surgical assistant. While in Colorado, Groth researched liver and

lymphoid tissue The lymphatic system, or lymphoid system, is an organ system in vertebrates that is part of the immune system, and complementary to the circulatory system. It consists of a large network of lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes, lymphatic or lymphoid o ...

transplantation in dogs, and made several important contributions to transplantation medicine, including the use of

anti-lymphocyte globulin Anti-lymphocyte globulin (ALG) is an infusion of animal- antibodies against human T cells which is used in the treatment of acute rejection in organ transplantation. Its use was first reported by Thomas Starzl in 1966. Its use in transplant was su ...

(ATG) use in acute organ rejection and the "triple-drug"

immunosuppression Immunosuppression is a reduction of the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immunosuppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse react ...

regimen for post-transplantation patients including ATG,

azathioprine Azathioprine (AZA), sold under the brand name Imuran, among others, is an immunosuppressive medication. It is used in rheumatoid arthritis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and systemic lupus erythematosus, ...

and

prednisone Prednisone is a glucocorticoid medication mostly used to immunosuppressive drug, suppress the immune system and decrease inflammation in conditions such as asthma, COPD, and rheumatologic diseases. It is also used to treat high blood calcium ...

. Groth returned to Stockholm in 1972, when he was chosen by Curt Franksson to head the transplantation program at the newly founded Huddinge Hospital (now

). He pioneered transplantation of various organs, including the liver,

pancreas The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an end ...

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

and

bone marrow Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It is composed of hematopoietic ce ...

, as well as

xenotransplantation Xenotransplantation (''xenos-'' from the Greek meaning "foreign" or strange), or heterologous transplant, is the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another. Such cells, tissues or organs are called xenograft ...

. He was the first surgeon in Sweden to perform pancreas transplantation (1974), liver transplantation (1984), and

islet cell transplantation Islet transplantation is the transplantation of isolated islets from a donor pancreas into another person. It is an experimental treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus. Once transplanted, the islets begin to produce insulin, actively regulating th ...

(1996). He published over 600 articles and a 1984 book, ''Pancreas Transplantation''. He became a professor of surgery at the Karolinska Institute in 1983 and supervised 39 PhD dissertations. Groth was a member of the

Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute is a body at Karolinska Institute which awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. It is headquartered in the Nobel Forum on the grounds of the Karolinska Institute campus. Originally the Nobel ...

from 1986 to 1999, and chaired the assembly in 1998. He was awarded

H. M. The King's Medal H. M. ( His Majesty) The King's Medal ( sv, H.M. Konungens medalj), earlier known as the Court Medal ( sv, Hovmedaljen), is a Swedish honour that may be bestowed upon Swedish and foreign citizens. The medal was created in 1814 and is awarded in di ...

in the 8th size with the

Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword ...

in 1998. He received the Transplantation Society's Medawar Prize in 2006. He was a consultant to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

from 2005.

Personal life and death

Groth married Birgit Hammargren, a teacher, in 1959 and had three children. He enjoyed sailing and won the Baltic Race in his yacht ''Supernova''. He had numerous health issues after undergoing

coronary artery bypass surgery Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage") is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest pai ...

in 2008, including

haemorrhages Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vag ...

related to

anticoagulant Anticoagulants, commonly known as blood thinners, are chemical substances that prevent or reduce coagulation of blood, prolonging the clotting time. Some of them occur naturally in blood-eating animals such as leeches and mosquitoes, where the ...

medication, a pelvic fracture, and worsening frailty. He died on 16 February 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groth, Carl Gustav 1933 births 2014 deaths Swedish surgeons Transplant surgeons Karolinska Institute alumni Academic staff of the Karolinska Institute