Life Stories: Distinguished Former U.S. Acting Surgeon General, Devoted Donor Husband and Father

Kenneth P. Moritsugu, MD, MPH image.

Donor Husband and Father, Donation Advocate: Washington, DC 

Dr. Moritsugu has a rare perspective on the invaluable gift of donation. He has served as Acting Surgeon General of the United States, he is a passionate international advocate for donation, and he is the husband and the father of organ donors.

Tragically, Dr. Moritsugu lost both his wife and his daughter in separate car accidents. Both became organ and cornea donors—and Dr. Moritsugu became a dedicated advocate for organ and tissue donation and transplantation.

Dr. Moritsugu was the moderator of 10 of the federal government’s National Recognition Ceremonies in Washington, DC. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the United Network for Organ Sharing, secretary/treasurer and board member of the Washington Regional Transplant Community, and member of the National Advisory Board for the Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program.

He has served on the Board of Trustees of the National Kidney Foundation, the Executive Committee of the National Donor Family Council, and the Washington Regional Transplant Consortium's Donor Family Council, its Public Affairs Committee, and its Minority Affairs Committee.

Former Acting Surgeon General of the United States and Hawaiian native Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu is a passionate international spokesman for organ donation and transplantation. 

 

From July 2006 to September 2007, Dr. Moritsugu served as Acting Surgeon General of the United States before retiring from the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service after 37 years of active duty.

Today, as Vice President for Global Strategic Affairs for LifeScan, a Johnson & Johnson company, Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu coordinates the strategic efforts of the Diabetes Franchise of Johnson & Johnson to address the diabetes pandemic. He also is chairman of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute, a global initiative to provide awareness and training in diabetes prevention, awareness, diagnosis, and treatment.

In recognition of his continuing efforts in the field of donation, at the 2007 International Congress on Organ Donation, Dr. Moritsugu was named inaugural International Ambassador for Organ and Tissue Donation.

Dr. Moritsugu’s story is courtesy of Health Resources and Service Administration, Division of Transplantation.