James Alexander Ross MBE, FRCSEd (25 June 1911 – 12 April 1997) was a Scottish surgeon awarded the MBE for his service in the Second World War. He was a leading member of the surgical team which, in 1960, carried out the first successful

kidney transplant Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantat ...

in the United Kingdom. He served as president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Early life

James Alexander Ross was born in Edinburgh in 1911 and spent his early childhood in Brazil where his father was a banker. He returned to Scotland aged nine and was educated at

Merchiston Castle School Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled ...

, Edinburgh of which he later became a governor. He entered the medical faculty of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in 1928 where he showed an early enthusiasm for anatomy which was to persist throughout his life. He graduated

MB ChB A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

in 1934 but before then he had decided to become a surgeon and after holding junior posts in Edinburgh and London, passed the examinations to become a Fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

(RCSEd) in 1938. Later that year he was appointed Clinical Tutor in the

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Com ...

.Obituary. James Alexander Ross. ''University of Edinburgh Journal.'' 1997;38;134

War service

At the outbreak of war in September 1939 he volunteered for service with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

(RAMC) as a surgical specialist. In 1940 he treated casualties from the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

and was then posted to Egypt with No 58 General Hospital RAMC. Here he treated casualties from most of the major battles fought by the 8th Army in the

North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

and in the invasions of Sicily and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Early in 1944 he was posted to the

Anzio beachhead The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that commenced January 22, 1944. The battle began with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle, and ended on June 4, 1944, with the liberation of Rome. T ...

with No 15 Casualty Clearing Station and for his services there he was awarded Membership of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE).

Surgical career

After demobilisation in 1945 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel he returned to Edinburgh and worked initially in the University Anatomy Department where he produced the thesis for which, in 1947, he was granted the degree of

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

(MD). In that year, he was appointed assistant surgeon to

Leith Hospital Leith Hospital was situated on Mill Lane in Leith, Edinburgh, and was a general hospital with adult medical and surgical wards, paediatric medical and surgical wards, a casualty department and a wide range of out-patient services. It closed in 1 ...

and to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. When the National Health Service was founded in 1948 he acquired the new designation of Consultant Surgeon and took charge of the Surgical Out-Patient Department. When Professor (later Sir)

Michael Woodruff Sir Michael Francis Addison Woodruff, (3 April 1911 – 10 March 2001) was an English surgeon and scientist principally remembered for his research into organ transplantation. Though born in London, Woodruff spent his youth in Australia ...

was appointed to the Edinburgh Chair of Surgical Science in 1957, James Ross joined his surgical team in the Royal Infirmary as its senior member. In this capacity, he played an important part in the first successful British

which was successfully carried out by a team led by Professor Woodruff in 1960. Ross removed the donor kidney which was transplanted into the recipient, the donor's twin brother, by Woodruff. In 1961 he was invited to set up a new general surgical unit at the

Eastern General Hospital The Eastern General Hospital was a health facility in Seafield Street in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It was managed by NHS Lothian at its time of closure and prior to that was managed by Lothian Health Board. History The hospital was designed by ...

, Edinburgh and the success of this unit was largely due to his energy and leadership. As Honorary Consultant Surgeon to the Army in Scotland from 1970-1976 and the surgical unit at the Eastern General was selected by the RAMC for the training of its surgical specialists. A succession of army surgeons were seconded for periods of one year under his tutelage. Ross always had a special interest in the surgical subspecialty of

urology Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...

. He collaborated with Sir John Bruce and Professor Robert Walmsley in writing the textbook ''Manual of Surgical Anatomy''. In 1960 Ross was elected a member of the

Harveian Society of Edinburgh The Harveian Society of Edinburgh was founded in April 1782 by Andrew Duncan (physician, born 1744), Andrew Duncan. The Society holds an annual Festival in honour of the life and works of William Harvey, the physician who first correctly des ...

and served as president in 1978. In 1971 he was elected a member of the

Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and ...

College activities

After his election as a Fellow, Ross became closely involved in the activities of the RCSEd. He became secretary in 1960 and in his eight years in office he acquired a valuable knowledge of college history, traditions and laws. He was elected vice president in 1971 and president in 1973. Ross was largely responsible for the establishment of the college's triennial overseas meetings and was a prime mover in the reform of higher surgical examinations together with the orthopaedic surgeon Professor JIP James and the neurosurgeon John Gillingham. The early proposals were refined under his successors and ultimately resulted in the institution of higher intercollegiate examinations in the surgical specialties. Obituary. James Ross. ''The Scotsman'' 1 May 1997 When his presidential term ended in 1976 he took on the chairmanship of the RCSEd Appeal which raised funds for the conversion of the postgraduate residence in Hill Square, which was subsequently concerted into Ten Hill Square hotel.

Later life

His book ''The Edinburgh School of Surgery after Lister'', published in 1978, is a valuable contribution to Scottish medical history. His historical knowledge enabled him to play an important part in the planning of the Sir Jules Thorn Historical Exhibition in

Surgeons' Hall Museum Surgeons' Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the headquarters of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd). It houses the Surgeons' Hall Museum, and the library and archive of the RCSEd. The present Surgeons' Hall was designed by William ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, James 1911 births 1997 deaths Medical doctors from Edinburgh People educated at Merchiston Castle School Royal Army Medical Corps officers Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish surgeons Members of the Order of the British Empire Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical School British Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Edinburgh Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh Office bearers of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh