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Dr. Claude Organ
A native Texan, Dr. Organ received his secondary education in the public schools of Denison, TX. He received a BS degree from Xavier University, New Orleans, LA (1948), and his MD degree from Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE (1952). His time at Creighton continued while he completed a surgical residency in the Creighton University Affiliated Hospitals. After serving as a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy Medical Corps (1957-1959), Dr. Organ joined the faculty of the department of surgery at Creighton University (1960). There, he rose to the rank of professor and chair of the department (1971-1982). He then moved to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City (1982-1988) where he was professor of surgery. Dr. Organ became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1961, and has since served as an active participant in and leader of numerous College activities. In 1999, the ACS Board of Regents presented him with its Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor awarded by the ACS. Dr. Organ was Second Vice-President of the College from 2001 to 2002, and ACS President from 2003-2004. Throughout his academic career, Dr. Organ has been committed to surgical education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. At Creighton University, he developed an elective surgical honors program for senior medical students who were pursuing a career in academic surgery. His work to support and encourage surgical residents to pursue biomolecular research and enter academic surgery has been a valued part of his career. Dr. Organ has served in leadership positions for numerous surgical organizations and societies. In 1984, he was elected president of the Southwestern Surgical Congress, and his presidency in that organization was characterized by significant changes in the association's policy, programs, and new initiatives. Furthermore, a lecture named in his honor - the Claude H. Organ, Jr., Basic Science Lecture of the Southwestern Surgical Congress - was inaugurated in 1995. He also served as a national director of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (1979-1989), director (1978-1986) and chairman (1984-1986) of the American Board of Surgery, and president of the Western Surgical Association (2002). Around 1997, Dr. Organ began to turn his attention to Africa. Through the Society of Black Academic Surgeons Dr. Organ has taken several delegations of surgeons to Nigeria. His dream to improve surgical care to the people of Africa has yet to be fulfilled but the seeds of progress have been sown. With a professional interest in both general and endocrine surgery, Dr. Organ is the author or co-author of over 250 scientific articles and book chapters and is the past editor of the Archives of Surgery, a position he had held from 1989 - 2004. He is also the author of five books including the two-volume set, A Century of Black Surgeons: The U.S.A. Experience (1987). Dr. Organ's contributions outside of organized surgery include serving on the board of directors of Omaha-based Boys Town. In the past, he also served as director of the National Catholic Conference for Human Justice (1972-1974) and as a trustee of both Howard University and Meharry Medical College. Dr. Organ was a giant in the field of surgery and medicine but he always had time to stop and talk to junior surgeons and medical students. His life is an example of how to truly be a mentor. He was quick to pick up the phone and call someone to help your career. He had been instrumental in getting the American College of Surgeons and many surgical journal boards to embrace diversity. Many surgeons come and go with little notice. Dr. Organ was noticed by everyone. He touched thousands. He will be greatly missed. Janet Allen Jacobsen
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Dr. Claude
Organ, friend, mentor, founder of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons,
Past President of the American College of Surgeons and Editor of the
Archives of Surgery, has died. Dr. Organ was a major leader in surgery in
the United States. He was an Emeritus Professor, Department of Surgery,
University of California, San Francisco and established and served as
Chief of the UCSF (previously UCD) East Bay Surgery Residency Program;
shaping the careers of countless surgeons in this country.