Nobel winner, transplant pioneer Joseph Murray dies at 93

GlobalPost

Nobel Prize-winning surgeon Dr. Joseph Murray, who completed the world's first successful kidney transplant, died Monday at age 93.

Murray was pronounced dead at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he performed his groundbreaking surgery, after suffering complications from a stroke, spokesman Tom Langford told Reuters.

More from GlobalPost: Doctors group: Prescribe morning-after pills in advance

He and his team completed the first successful kidney transplant in 1954 on a set of identical twins, taking a kidney from one and giving it to his brother, according to The Associated Press.

Murray shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 with bone marrow transplant pioneer Dr. E. Donnall Thomas.

More from GlobalPost: FDA halts peanut butter plant operations

Murray began his career after graduating from Harvard Medical School in the 1940s, and developed an interest in transplanting tissue while working with injured soldiers in World War II, according to Reuters.

He and his colleagues began testing transplant techniques on dogs, removing and reimplanting kidneys, The New York Times reported.

According to the Boston Herald, Murray is survived by his wife, three sons, three daughters and 18 grandchildren.

Tell us about your experience accessing The World

We want to hear your feedback so we can keep improving our website, theworld.org. Please fill out this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers will be anonymous). Thanks for your time!