Press Releases | International Burn Foundation

Dr. Mehmet Haberal to be honored for career contributions to the field of burn care and education.

Durham, NC – August 2022. The International Burn Foundation (IBF) today announced that the Tanner-Vandeput-Boswick Burn prize for 2022 will be given to Dr. Mehmet Haberal of Ankara, Turkey. The prize, which totals approximately $100,000, will be presented at the Congress of the International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI) to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico in August 2022. In addition to the cash award, the prize includes a gold and diamond pin designed by the late Dr. J.C. Tanner.

“Dr. Haberal has committed himself to the holistic advancement of burn care both in Turkey and throughout the world” according to a statement from Jane Boswick-Caffrey, Chairman of the IBF, “Throughout his career he has supported education, prioritized innovation, and brought people in the field of burn care together. He is a person of conviction which has allowed him to be such an inspiring and caring leader.”

Dr. Haberal received his medical degree from Ankara University Medical School in Ankara, Turkey. Completed his surgical residency at the Hacettepe University in 1971. In 1973, Dr. Haberal travelled to the United States to begin his fellowship at the Shriners Burns Institute in Galveston to work in the field of burns, followed by a fellowship at the Colorado University Medical School Transplantation Center in Denver. On his return to Turkey, he has focused his talents as surgical clinician, educator, and organizer on the societal challenges presented by burn injury. Dr. Haberal has played a pivotal role in the development of transplantation and burn capabilities and established the first Transplantation and Burn Treatment centers in Turkey.

He pioneered experimental studies and was the first to perform the first living-related kidney transplantation in 1975, the first deceased-donor kidney transplantation in 1978 and the first local deceased-donor kidney transplantation in Turkey in 1979. He is the first person to perform the first successful deceased-donor liver transplantation in Turkey, in the Middle East and in Northern Africa in 1988. This was followed with the first pediatric segmental living-related liver transplantation in Turkey, the region, and in Europe in i 1990 and immediately succeeded by the first adult segmental living-related liver transplantation (left lobe) in the world in 1990. On May 16, 1992, Prof. Haberal performed combined liver-kidney transplantation from a living-related donor, which was the first operation in the world.

Dr. Haberal also spent time abroad and brought state-of-the-art technology and approaches back to Turkey. One of Dr. Haberal’s key achievements was establishing Başkent University in 1993 to improve access to education in his country. In 1995 the Turkish Burn and Fire Disaster Society, and in 2003 the Baskent University Burn and Fire Disaster Institute were founded by Dr. Haberal, and modern burn units were established in the intensive care units of 3 hospitals in different cities. He organized the first national burn meeting in Turkey in 1979. He founded the Turkish Burn and Fire Disaster Society (TYAD) in 1995 and the Middle East Burn and Fire Disaster Society (MEBFDS) in 1999. In 2021, he has successfully launched Burn Care and Prevention journal to create an arena to exchange information among all engaged in the field of burn care and prevention. He served as the President of ISBI for the term 2006-2008 which he presided over in Montreal. His leadership in burn care services and his active collaboration with regional and global institutions have led to the establishment of numerous burn care centers and the training of many young physicians.

In 2020, His Majesty King Felipe VI, King of Spain, bestowed upon him the award of The Spanish Order of the Civil Merit (Cruz de Official) in recognition to the professional career of Professor Haberal in the fields of Medicine and Education.

In 2022, he has been awarded the Ihsan Doğramacı Family Health Foundation Prize in 2022 by the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) for his remarkable services in the field of family health.

“It is a great honor to receive this prestigious award.” said Dr. Haberal during a recent interview. “Burn injury is a societal problem, not just a medical one. Burns can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone. This is what makes it such an important field of work and why it is crucial for clinicians of all disciplines as well as policy-makers to work together to solve the problem.”

About the Tanner-Vandeput-Boswick Burn Prize:
The Tanner-Vandeput-Boswick (TVB) Burn Prize was established in 1984 by the late Dr. J.C. Tanner of Atlanta, GA. Dr. Tanner, assisted by Dr. Jacques Vandeput, invented the Tanner-Vandeput Mesh Dermatome, a device that enables skin grafts to be expanded to cover a larger area of a patient’s burn. The International Burn Foundation (IBF) was created to promote and administer the TVB Burn Prize. Dr. Tanner honored the contributions of the late Dr. John Boswick, first Chairman of the Foundation Board of Directors, by adding his name to the prize. The prize is quadrennial, and will be given out again in 2026.

OTHER WEBSITES OF INTEREST

www.worldburn.org - International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI)

www.ameriburn.org - American Burn Association (ABA)

Website for ISBI Congresses