In
August 2006 Robert M. Cornfeld, D.M.D., and his wife,
Judith, made a $1 million inaugural gift toward the development
of the Miami Transplant Institute at the University of
Miami/ Jackson Memorial Medical Center. This commitment
was made in memory of Helene Metz, Judy’s sister—a
kidney transplant recipient.  “It is important for people to understand that by
supporting the transplant program they are giving the gift
of a lifetime,” says
Cornfeld.
“There are thousands of people each year whose lives
are saved by receiving a new organ. My sister-in-law, Helene
Metz, was one of those people. We are grateful for the
care she received at the Miller School of Medicine, and
it is in her honor that we made this gift.”
The Transplant Institute will change the
practice of transplantation as it is known today. It
will bring
together a group of
clinicians and researchers who have transplantations
as their primary objective and will be capable of carrying
out large-scale clinical trials for the testing of
new therapies in this rapidly evolving field. Its focus
will
be to solve the issues of organ tolerance and availability,
the two most significant medical challenges in the
field of transplantation.
“We are delighted and thrilled to receive this gift from
Dr. Cornfeld and his wife, Judy, longtime supporters
of the Miller School of Medicine,” says Andreas Tzakis,
M.D., Ph.D., director of the institute. “This
gift will help lay the groundwork to begin the development
of
one of the most effective and comprehensive transplant
facilities, which will provide the gift of life to
so many.”
Cornfeld, a retired orthodontist, is the
owner of numerous real estate companies collectively
known as The Cornfeld
Group. He and his wife have been major donors to the
Miller School since 1992 and are staunch supporters
of the DeWitt
Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, bestowing gifts
for both the Simonsen Chair in Transplant Surgery and
the Transplant Immunobiology Chair.
“We hope our inaugural gift will encourage others to give
and support this vital initiative,” says Cornfeld, “and
that together we can be instrumental in the establishment
of the Miami Transplant Institute at UM/Jackson.”
The Department of Surgery’s transplant programs and
physicians have earned a world-renowned reputation for
successful liver, kidney, pancreas, intestine, islet cell,
heart, lung, and multivisceral transplants. The programs
are among the largest in the country and have superior
clinical outcomes, enhancing quality of life for hundreds
of patients and their families. |
