Surgeon who performed 1st kidney transplant in S'pore dies at 95

UPDATE on Feb. 6 at 11:10am: This article has been updated with a statement from NUH.

Chan Kong Thoe, the surgeon who performed Singapore's first-ever kidney transplant in 1970, has died at the age of 95.

Chan passed away on Feb. 1, during the Chinese New Year period, according to an obituary shared to social media by the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The obituary honoured Koh, who previously headed the then-University of Singapore’s Department of Surgery, as "a visionary leader, an exceptional surgeon, and a dedicated educator".

Performed 1st kidney transplant in Singapore

According to the National Library Board (NLB) website, Chan conducted the first kidney transplant in Singapore on Jul. 8, 1970.

Prior to that, renal failure was considered a death sentence for Singaporeans.

Chan, the lead surgeon in the team, operated on 29-year-old Doreen Tan, using a kidney from a 20-year-old donor who died before the surgery.

At that point, the transplant was considered experimental and had only been performed on dogs a year prior to Tan's surgery.

Within days of the surgery, Tan was able to sit up and chat with her husband during his daily visits.

She would survive for another 22 years, even managing to attend a reunion in 1990 to commemorate 20 years of kidney transplantations in Singapore.

A Vathsala, centre director of the National University Centre for Organ Transplantation (NUCOT), at the National University Hospital (NUH), told Mothership that this operation set the stage for living donor kidney transplants and transplant operations of the heart, liver, lungs and pancreas to be performed in Singapore over the next five decades.

On Chan's legacy, Vathsala said:

"His vision and commitment to advancing medical practice have left an enduring legacy in the field of organ transplantation in Singapore, saving countless lives through his pioneering work and inspiring future generations of surgeons, transplant physicians and healthcare professionals in Singapore.

A trailblazing surgeon

According to a post on the Death Kopitiam Facebook page, Chan was born in Penang in 1930.

In 1954, Chan graduated from the University of Malaya with honours with distinction in three subjects — medicine, surgery and obstetrics and gynaecology.

He was its first student to do so.

He was subsequently awarded the prestigious Queen's Scholarship to study in the UK.

Chan, a surgeon, was renowned for being a trailblazer, and later built a legacy in establishing core surgical disciplines and fostering collaboration with local hospitals.

In 1965, he was awarded a Hunterian Professorship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England for his work on liver cancer.

Chan is survived by his wife and three daughters.

Top image from NUH/Facebook & Lianhe Zaobao