The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major
teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada and the flagship campus of
University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the
Discovery District of
Downtown Toronto along
University Avenue's Hospital Row; it is directly north of
The Hospital for Sick Children
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, across Gerrard Street West, and east of
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (previously, ''Princess Margaret Hospital'') is a scientific research centre and a teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, affiliated with the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine as part of the Univ ...
and
Mount Sinai Hospital. The hospital serves as a teaching hospital for the
University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
The Temerty Faculty of Medicine (previously Faculty of Medicine) is the medical school of the University of Toronto. Founded in 1843, the faculty is based in Downtown Toronto and is one of Canada's oldest institutions of medical studies, being k ...
. In 2019, the hospital was ranked first for research in Canada by Research Infosource for the ninth consecutive year.
The emergency department now treats 28,065 persons each year, while the hospital also houses the major
transplantation service for Ontario, performing
heart
The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...
,
lung
The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...
,
kidney
The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...
,
liver
The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...
,
pancreas
The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an end ...
, and
small intestine
The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the p ...
, amongst others, for patients referred from all over Canada. The hospital is the largest
organ transplant
Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organs may be transpo ...
center in North America, performing 639 transplants in 2017.
The hospital is also renowned for cardiac and thoracic surgery. The world's first single and double
lung transplants were performed at TGH in 1983 and 1986 and the world's first
valve-sparing aortic root replacement was done by
Tirone David at Toronto General Hospital in 1992. The Lung Transplant program is currently the largest in the world, performing 167 lung transplants in 2017. In 2015, surgeons performed the world's first triple organ transplant (lung, liver and pancreas) in 19 year old Reid Wylie at Toronto General Hospital. TGH teaches resident physicians, nurses, and technicians; it also conducts research through the Toronto General Research Institute.
Currently,
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, as a member of the
Canadian Royal Family, is patron of the hospital.
History

The hospital started as a small shed in the old town and was used as a
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
military hospital during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, after which it was founded as a permanent institutionYork General Hospitalin 1829, at John and King Streets (now home to
Bell Lightbox). In 1855 a new home for the hospital was built on the north side of Gerrard Street, east of Parliament, using a design by architect
William Hay. In 1913, the hospital moved to
College Street College Street may refer to:
*College Street (Kolkata)
*College Street (Toronto)
* College Street (Sydney)
*College Street (York)
College Green is an open space in the city centre of York, England.
History
The green lies within the historic pr ...
, near its current location, expanding and upgrading over the ensuing years. The 1913 structure, previously called the ''College Wing'', was eventually sold by the hospital, to become the home of the
MaRS Discovery District
MaRS Discovery District is a not-for-profit corporation founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2000. Its stated goal is to commercialize publicly funded medical research and other technologies with the help of local private enterprises and as such ...
after a new wing for the TGH was completed and opened in 2002.
Ajmera Transplant Centre
Toronto General Hospital was the largest organ transplantation center in North America in 2017, performing 639 transplants in total.
*Lung - TGH performed 167 lung transplants, making it the largest lung transplant program in the world.
*Liver - TGH performed 195 liver Transplants with 39 of those living donor transplants in 2017 making the program the largest in North America.
*Kidney - TGH performed 202 kidney transplants, 65 of those were living donor transplants, making the program the largest in Canada
*Heart - TGH performed 34 heart transplants in 2017, making the program the largest in Canada
*Pancreas - TGH performed 8 pancreas transplants in 2018, making the program the largest in Canada.
*Kidney-Pancreas - TGH performed 34 kidney-pancreas transplants in 2017, making the program the largest in Canada.
*Small Bowel - TGH performed 1 small bowel transplant in 2018.
Peter Munk Cardiac Centre
Toronto General Hospital is the home of the
Peter Munk
Peter Munk (November 8, 1927 – March 28, 2018) was a Hungarian-Canadian businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of a number of high-profile business ventures, including the hi-fi electronics co ...
Cardiac Centre (PMCC), which is one of the largest open heart centers in Canada and is ranked first in Canada and in the top ten in North America for academic productivity. Many clinical firsts in cardiovascular care were performed at TGH. The center is named after
Peter Munk
Peter Munk (November 8, 1927 – March 28, 2018) was a Hungarian-Canadian businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of a number of high-profile business ventures, including the hi-fi electronics co ...
, the founder and chairman of
Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democrati ...
corporation, who donated $100 million in 2017, the largest donation to a hospital in Canadian history. He donated a total of $175 million since 1993 to the hospital.
Research
Toronto General Hospital has had many research achievements, including:
*The development and first clinical use of
insulin
Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
in the treatment of
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
– 1922
*World's first clinical use of the anticoagulant
heparin
Heparin, also known as unfractionated heparin (UFH), is a medication and naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan. Since heparins depend on the activity of antithrombin, they are considered anticoagulants. Specifically it is also used in the treatm ...
– 1935
*World's first external heart
pacemaker
An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart eith ...
used in open heart resuscitation – 1950
*World's first successful valve transplant – 1955
*World's first
coronary care unit
A coronary care unit (CCU) or cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) is a hospital ward specialized in the care of patients with heart attacks, unstable angina, cardiac dysrhythmia and (in practice) various other cardiac conditions that require contin ...
– 1965
*World's first successful single
lung transplant (Tom Hall) – 1983
*World's first successful double
lung transplant (
Ann Harrison) – 1986
*World's first aortic valve transplant using the Toronto Heart Valve – 1987
*Canada's first and largest HIV/AIDS clinic, the Immunodeficiency Clinic – 1994
*World's first successful triple organ transplant (lung, liver and pancreas) – 2015
*Canada's first hand transplant – 2016
See also
*
List of Canadian organizations with royal patronage
*
William Rawlins Beaumont
*
List of hospitals in Toronto
There are over thirty hospitals located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Many of them are also medical research facilities and teaching schools affiliated with the University of Toronto. Most hospitals are grouped under administrative networks that ser ...
References
External links
Hospital websiteHealth Innovationtouches on the TGH's early history and design.
{{Authority control
Hospital buildings completed in 1855
Hospital buildings completed in 1913
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...
Darling and Pearson buildings
Organizations based in Canada with royal patronage
Hospitals established in 1812
York General Hospital
1855 establishments in Canada
Military Hospital, Upper Canada
Hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto
1812 establishments in Upper Canada