Peter Morris was a surgeon specialising in organ transplant and vascular surgery. His research led to important advances in the understanding of organ rejection and matching of donors and recipients. He served as a visiting professor at over 50 institutions worldwide, and his major awards included the Lister Medal and the Medawar Prize.
Peter and colleagues were the first to discover antibodies against the donor tissue in those who have received a transplanted kidney. He went on to identify the most important genetic and cellular markers for ensuring a good match between donor and recipient, thereby minimising the risk of organ rejection. This discovery has been vital for the success of organ transplants.
Peter was President of both the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSE) and The Transplantation Society, and Chairman of the British Heart Foundation. He also established the Centre for Evidence in Transplantation at the RCSE and has edited key medical textbooks, including seven editions of Kidney Transplantation: Principles and Practice (1979) and the Oxford Textbook of Surgery (1994).
Sir Peter Morris AC FMedSci FRS died on 29 October 2022.
Subject groups
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Health and Human Sciences
Medicine, clinical studies
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Cell Biology
Cellular and humoral immunology
