About

Dr. Satoru Todo

Dr. Satoru Todo is a former colleague of Dr. Starzl’s who was an important part of the clinical trials of FK-506. A native of Japan, Todo received his medical degree from Kyushu University in 1972 and was intrigued by the prospect of organ transplantation. At the time, because brain death was not an accepted concept in Japanese society, research on liver transplantation was severely hampered in the country. After meeting him in 1980, the young Todo began a correspondence with Starzl, repeatedly expressing his desire to come to Pittsburgh to become a part of the newly formed transplant team. (Doc. 1) He finally made his way to the University of Pittsburgh in 1984, starting as an unpaid research fellow, and eventually working his way up to become a Professor of Surgery.

Starzl was full of praise for his newest fellow, noting that “Dr. Todo may be the finest technical surgeon in the world today,” in a 1987 letter. (Doc. 2) His skill made him a natural candidate to perform more complicated surgeries, such as a five-organ transplant performed on a three-year old girl in 1988. (Doc. 3) However, Todo made his biggest impact on the research of the drug FK-506 (Tacrolimus). Working closely with Starzl, John Fung, and Andreas Tzakis, Todo was instrumental in clinical research studies of the effectiveness of the drug. He also served as a key component of the project in establishing a relationship with the Japanese company, Fujisawa, which was responsible for the manufacture of the drug. (Doc. 4) Todo continued to work closely with Starzl at the University of Pittsburgh for many years, only resigning from his position in 1997 to become the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Hokkaido University School of Medicine. Bolstered by the myriad successes he had enjoyed at Pitt, he “decided to go back to Japan to work for the many patients in Japan and other Asian countries who have been waiting for a second chance at life from organ transplantation.” (Doc. 5)

Though nearly half a world apart, Starzl and Todo have maintained a long correspondence born out of the closeness of working together for 13 years. Their farewell letters to one another upon Todo’s departure from Pitt show an enormous amount of respect and friendship between the two men. (Doc. 5 and Doc. 6) Todo’s successes have only continued in Japan, where he works tirelessly to bring his lifesaving work to a wider audience.