Prof. Dr. Münci Kalayoğlu (1940–2024) was a pioneering Turkish transplant surgeon, renowned as the first Turkish doctor to perform a liver transplant. His contributions to organ transplantation, particularly liver surgery, brought him international recognition.
Born in Ankara, Turkey, Kalayoğlu initially aspired to study engineering but eventually pursued medicine, graduating from Ankara University Faculty of Medicine in 1963. He then specialized in general surgery at Hacettepe University Seeking further expertise, he trained in the United States, completing a surgical internship at Mount Sinai Medical School in New York (1967-1968) and a pediatric surgery residency at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (1968-1971).
Kalayoğlu returned to Turkey and joined Hacettepe University's Faculty of Medicine, becoming an associate professor in 1972 and a full professor in 1977. In 1981, he developed an interest in liver transplantation and returned to the University of Pittsburgh as a visiting professor to study under Dr. Thomas Starzl, a pioneer in the field. In 1983, he accepted an offer to join the University of Wisconsin, where he established the Liver Transplantation Program He performed Wisconsin's first liver transplant in July 1984 and went on to perform over 1,500 transplants, introducing several groundbreaking procedures in the state, including the first pediatric liver transplant and the first adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant.
In 2006, Kalayoğlu returned to Turkey to lead the Department of Organ Transplantation and General Surgery at Memorial Şişli Hospital. In 2018, he joined Koç University Hospital as the Director of the Organ Transplantation Center, continuing his work in advancing transplant medicine.
Prof. Kalayoğlu was a member of several prestigious medical organizations, including the American College of Surgeons and the Turkish Academy of Sciences. He authored 22 books and published 196 peer-reviewed articles. He passed away on 17 November 2024 in Istanbul at the age of 84, leaving behind a legacy as a pioneer in transplant surgery and a mentor to many in the medical community.