The American surgeon who pioneered the Liver Transplant procedure in 1963 and later devoted his life to perfecting it has died.

Thomas Starzl was 91-years-old and passed away at home surrounded by his family.

"He was a pioneer, a legend, a great human, and a great humanitarian," read the statement from Dr. Starzl's family.  "He was a force of nature that swept all those around him into his orbit, challenging those that surrounded him to strive to match his superhuman feats of focus, will, and compassion."

Starzl performed the first attempt at a liver transplant in 1963, but the patient didn't survive for long after the surgery.  After creating a new combination of anti-rejection drugs, he carried out the first successful transplant in 1967.  Later, he experimented with transplants from cadavers and from animals such as baboons - proving that the latter method could be used for extending human life for short periods when suitable organs are not immediately available.

In the 1980s, Starzl joined the University of Pittsburgh to further his research into anti-rejection drugs.  The school called him the "father of transplantation" who advanced the surgery "from a risky, rare procedure to an accessible" one.