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Khoo Oon Teik
Khoo Oon Teik BBM (30 March 1921 – 5 March 2012) was a Singaporean nephrologist and founder of National Kidney Foundation.[1] Early life and educationOn 30 March 1921, Khoo was born in Penang to a Chinese family, and was the second eldest among his nine siblings. His father, Reverend Khoo Cheng Hoe, was a pastor of the Chinese Methodist Church at Madras Lane, Penang, and his mother, Kwan Chin Poh, was studying at the Eveland Seminary in Singapore before marriage in March 1919.[2][3] Khoo enrolled in the Anglo-Chinese School, Penang, and graduated with a Senior Cambridge in 1937.[4][5] He was awarded a scholarship to study medicine at the King Edward VII College of Medicine (KECM).[6] His studies were disrupted by the Japanese occupation of Singapore, and he was appointed as a section leader of the Medical Auxiliary Service, organising medical students and staff of the college to render medical assistance to the injured.[1] In 1942, Khoo served as a laboratory assistant in the Mental Hospital, and in 1944, he was sent to work on the Burma Railway. After the war ended, Khoo resumed his studies and graduated with a Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery in 1946.[1][7] In October 1951, Khoo left for United Kingdom to further his studies in medicine, specifically on dermatology, neurology, and chest-related diseases.[8][9] On 19 December 1952, Khoo graduated from the University of Malaya with a Doctor of Medicine.[10][11] CareerIn 1947, Khoo began his career as a medical officer at the General Hospital, and as a lecturer in clinical medicine at KECM. In 1948, he started a skin and leprosy clinic within the hospital, marking the start of dermatology in Singapore.[1] In 1965, Khoo succeeded Ernest Steven Monteiro as the professor of clinical medicine, and pushed for the establishment of a S$4 million institute for medical specialties at the University of Singapore.[8][12] In the 1960s, Khoo witnessed many deaths due to kidney disease, including his younger brother, Oon Eng, who died in 1959 due to kidney failure.[13] After returning from an extensive study trip across United Kingdom, United States and Europe in 1967, Khoo urged the government for the establishment of a national foundation to help individuals dying from kidney disease.[14][15] As such, on 7 April 1969, the National Kidney Foundation was inaugurated by Minister for Health Chua Sian Chin, with Khoo being elected as the founding chairman.[16][17] President Yusof Ishak was appointed as patron of the foundation, and Ernest Steven Monteiro, Singapore's ambassador to Cambodia, was appointed as the president.[18] In 1995, Khoo stepped down as chairman after suffering from a stroke.[19][20] Personal lifeKhoo was a Methodist. On 29 August 1947, Khoo married Adeline Phoa at Wesley Methodist Church, Singapore, and they had four sons.[3][21] Phoa died on 3 April 1996.[21] In 1995, Khoo suffered from a stroke and had a failed operation to remove a cyst in his brain. He had been in ill health and was wheelchair-bound since then.[13][19] In February 2012, Khoo suffered from epileptic seizures and organ failure.[19] Khoo died at 1:30 am SST on 5 March 2012, aged 90, at Singapore General Hospital.[19] His good class bungalow at Caldecott Hill was put up for sale by his estate on 15 August 2012, and was sold for S$26.1 million on 30 October 2012.[22][23] Awards and decorations
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Information related to Khoo Oon Teik |
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