Draft:Samuel Zaltzman

Samuel Zaltzman Girshevich (December 20, 1932 - May 12, 2022) was a Mexican pediatric nephrologist, one of the founders of the National Institute of Pediatrics (formerly "IMAN" Mexican Institution for Child Assistance) and considered one of the pioneers in pediatric nephrology and in the first successful kidney transplants in Mexico.

Biography
Samuel Zaltzman Girshevich was born on December 20, 1932 in Mexico City, originally from a family of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine and Belarus (Eugenia Girshevich and Leon Zaltzman). He initially trained as an internist at the UNAM Faculty of Medicine. In 1955, he carried out his internship in the Department of Pathology at the General Hospital of Mexico, obtaining the title of Surgeon by UNAM in 1956.

He entered the postgraduate program at the Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago that same year, being a *fellow* in pediatric research, to later specialize at the Presbyterian St. Lukes Hospital in Chicago. In 1961, he did an internship at the Hôpital Necker-Enfants malades in Paris and continued his studies in kidney transplantation at the University Hospital of Birmingham, England, until 1963.

In 1967, he returned to the National Institute of Cardiology of Mexico along with Herman Villarreal, where they performed the first kidney transplant with an average survival of 8 years in 1968. That same year, he joined as a member of the medical staff at ABC Hospital, where he inaugurated the Hemodialysis Unit.

He was invited to the Mexican Institution for Child Assistance (current National Institute of Pediatrics) where he founded the Nephrology Service in 1970. At that time, there were only two other pediatric nephrology services in Mexico, led by doctors Gustavo Gordillo Paniagua at the Federico Gómez Children's Hospital of Mexico and Santos-Atheron at the IMSS Children's Hospital.

In 1972, he was appointed president of the Mexican Institute of Nephrological Research. In 1978, he began his work as a teacher at UNAM, serving as a subject teacher in the Single Plan of Medical Specialties in the area of Nephrology for 44 years.

He was a founding member of the Mexican Council of Nephrology in 1986, after a decade of efforts along with other prominent doctors to establish a Council of the specialty.

Dr. Samuel Zaltzman Girshevich passed away at the age of 89 in Mexico City on May 12, 2022.

Honors

 * National Award for Medical Assistance from the Health Sector delivered by President José López Portillo (1980).
 * Recognition by the American Benevolent Society for his participation in the care program for patients amputated by the 1985 earthquakes (1987).
 * Recognition by the Mexican Institute of Nephrological Research (IMIN) for his work in Mexican nephrology (1997, 2008).
 * Recognition by the Organization for Social Assistance (1998).
 * Recognition for University Merit by UNAM for his academic work during 20 years of teaching and research (1998, 2003, 2008).
 * Recognition for his teaching work on behalf of the residents of the Children's Hospital of Mexico in conjunction with the National Institute of Pediatrics (2005).
 * Recognition by the Health Institute of the State of Mexico (2008).
 * Excellence in Medicine Award from the ABC Medical Center in recognition of his contributions and achievements during 40 years as a doctor at the ABC hospital (2009).
 * Recognition for career trajectory and achievements by the Private Assistance Institution "Transplante y Vida", of whose Advisory Council he was a Member (2014).
 * Recognition as Founding Member by the Mexican Council of Nephrology on its 30th anniversary, for his efforts in the constitution of the Council (2015).
 * The Hemodialysis and Kidney Transplant Unit of the National Institute of Pediatrics bears his name in recognition of his professional trajectory (2017).
 * Recognition from the National Institute of Pediatrics for 50 years of service in favor of Mexican children in the service of the Federal Public Administration (2017).