Dr. Donald B. Effler, 89; Heart and Organ Transplant Surgeon
Dr. Donald B. Effler, 89, considered a pioneer in heart surgery and organ transplantation, died Aug. 24 at a nursing home in Jamesville, N.Y.
In 1956, he became one of the first surgeons in the world to stop a human heart long enough to perform surgery. He was the senior surgeon on a multiple transplant operation in 1968, in which the heart and kidneys of an accident victim were transplanted into three recipients.
In the early 1970s, Effler set up the Philippine Heart Center for Asia in Manila and operated on King Khaled, then the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
He headed the Cleveland Clinic’s thoracic and cardiovascular surgery department from 1949 to 1975, then left to establish the open-heart program at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y. He retired in 1985.
A native of New York City, Effler earned his degrees from the University of Michigan and its medical school. He served in the Army Medical Corps during World War II.
