Black History: Special Delivery!!
Dr. Clive Callender (1936 – )
Dr. Clive Callender (1936-) is an accomplished medical doctor, educator and pioneer in the field of organ transplantation. He was born in New York, NY. Callender was placed in foster care as a child and also lived with his father until his stepmother had to be hospitalized. At that time, Callender moved in with his aunt, “Ella”. He became very involved with his Aunt’s church, Ebenezer Gospel Tabernacle. As a result, he wanted to become a medical missionary. After completing high school, Callender received his B.S. degree in Chemistry and Physiology from Hunter College. He then attended Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN where he received his M.D. degree in 1963. He completed residency programs at Harlem Hospital, Freedmen’s Hospital, and Memorial Hospital For Cancer and Allied Disease. Following his residency completion, he returned to Howard University Hospital and became chief resident. In 1969, he became an instructor at Howard University. In 1970, he served as a medical officer at D.C. General Hospital.
In 1971, he realized his dream of becoming a medical missionary in Nigeria. Callendar was assigned to Port Harcourt General Hospital, and, worked there for 9 months following the end of the country’s Biafran Civil War. In 1971, Callender received a fellowship through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study organ transplantation. Following the fellowship, he was promoted to an assistant professorship and founded the Howard University Hospital Transplant Center. In his role, he discovered that there was a tremendous scarcity of transplant donors. Callender made it his mission to increase the number of transplant donors. In 1991 he founded the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP). MOTTEP received $1.2 million in funding from the NIH Office of Research On Minority Health to develop a strategic plan to increase the number of organ transplant donors in 11 cities.
In 1995 MOTTEP received an additional $5.8 million dollars in funding to expand into an additional fifteen new cities. In 1996, Callender was promoted to Professor of Surgery at Howard University College of Medicine. Callender is a national spokesperson for organ donation and has authored over 125 scientific publications on transplantation. He has been featured on national television shows such as the Oprah Winfrey Show, Nightline, CBS Evening News and CNN News. The number one challenge facing organ transplantation is the shortage of donors! Organs and tissues that can be donated include: heart, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, hands, face, corneas, skin, tendons, bone, heart valves, bones, middle ear and blood vessels.
To become a donor, register at: www.organdonor.gov or www.donatelifeamerica.org. You can also register when obtaining or renewing your drivers’ license at your local department of motor vehicles. Contact National MOTTEP 202.865.4888. For more information, visit the MOTTEP website: https://www.natlmottep.org/
Dr. Callender is featured on this short video that shares more info and stats on organ transplantation:
https://youtu.be/VFOEuZvfd_w
https://youtu.be/VFOEuZvfd_w
Sources:
http://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/clive-callender
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