Rear Adm. Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., lost his wife, Donna Lee Jones, in an auto accident in 1992, and his daughter, Vikki Lianne, in a separate auto accident in 1996. Both were organ and tissue donors and helped save numerous lives.

Since Oct. 1, 1998, Dr. Moritsugu has filled the position of deputy surgeon general of the United States, serving as the principal assistant and adviser to the surgeon general. From February to August 2002, he served as the acting surgeon general, in which capacity he directly oversaw nearly 6,000 medical personnel of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and functioned as the nation's top doctor.

From December 1987 to September 1998, he was assistant bureau director and medical director of the U.S. Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Prisons. His responsibilities included management of medical and psychiatric programs and occupational safety, environmental health and food and nutrition services for more than 120,000 federal inmates and detainees.

Dr. Moritsugu has been a federal representative to numerous national health-care agencies and provided expertise to international organizations and governments, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Germany, Mexico and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Of particular note, he served as the official U.S. observer to the Council of Europe's Select Committee of Experts on the Impact of the AIDS Epidemic on the Criminal Justice System in Strasbourg, France, and as the representative to the 75th Anniversary of the Pan American Health Board in Havana, Cuba.

Since 1994, Dr. Moritsugu has advocated for organ and tissue donation and transplantation, participating in the National Donor Family Recognition Programs in Washington, D.C., and filling key speaking engagements at numerous national and local events. In his private capacity, he has been a member of the board of directors of the Washington Regional Transplant Consortium, and a member of the National Advisory Board for the Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program. He is a past member of the board of directors of the United Network for Organ Sharing, and of the board of trustees of the National Kidney Foundation. He is also an active volunteer with the Transplant Recipients International Organization.