I would like to express my great sorrow on the loss of our dear friend David Sutherland. He was a recognized national and international scientist, a pioneering transplant surgeon, a mentor, a great leader, and one of the finest individuals I have had the privilege to know. 

He left a grave legacy behind and will be recognized with his and tireless dedication and contributions to academic medicine and clinical research. His work has saved countless lives, and his influence will endure in the medical community for generations.

Dr. Sutherland completed medical school, surgery residency, and transplantation fellowship at the University of Minnesota, where he also served as Chief of the Division of Transplantation and the Director of the Schulze Diabetes Institute until his retirement in 2012.

During his career, Prof. David E. R. Sutherland revolutionized medicine with his groundbreaking techniques. At the University of Minnesota, David Sutherland directed the world’s oldest and largest pancreas and islet transplant program, and even developed a technique of spleen preservation, now called the "Sutherland technique."

As a mentor, Dr. Sutherland was inspiring and truly beloved by his trainees, many of whom went on to become leaders of major transplant programs in the U.S.

David Sutherland, Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota, has a long and illustrious career with many firsts in the field of pancreas and islet transplantation. He began the world's first clinical islet transplants with his mentor, Dr. John Najarian, at the University of Minnesota in 1974.

He went on to perform the world's first living-donor partial pancreas transplant in 1979. He directed the longest standing pancreas transplant program at the University of Minnesota for decades, a program that has done more than 2400 pancreas transplants and nearly 1000 islet transplants. In 1980, he founded the International Pancreas Transplant Registry.

Beyond his clinical achievements, Dr. Sutherland gave back to the transplant community and his peers in many ways. He has trained hundreds of physicians and scientists both in his lab and on the floor. Over 100 of those trainees went on to direct pancreas and islet programs around the world. He has contributed over 1500 publications examining his groundbreaking research in the preclinical and clinical settings.

He was a leader in our community. Dr. Sutherland is Past-President of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (1990-91), the Cell Transplant Society (1995-96), the International Pancreas and Islet Transplant Association (1996-97) and The Transplantation Society (2002-2004). He was the recipient of the Medawar Prize in 2012, the world's highest dedicated award for the most outstanding contributions in the field of transplantation.

Dr. Sutherland served as an Editorial Board Member of the Experimental and Clinical Transplantation journal and provided his expertise during the peer-review process of manuscripts submitted. We had collaborated with him for so many years and it has been a privilege to know him since decades.

He will be deeply missed by all of us and his memory will continue to accompany us for a long time. I send my heartfelt condolences to his wife Vanessa, his family and loved ones. May God have his soul rest in peace.