José Medina Pestana, MD, Ph.D., FRCS, is a Full Professor of Nephrology and Head of the Renal Transplant Division at the Federal University of São Paulo. He is past President of the Brazilian Organ Transplant Association and the "STALyC" in Latin America. He was honored to be the Joseph Murray Harvard Medical School visiting professor in 2012 and a Brazilian Academy of Medicine member. He has worked on developing organ transplantation programs in every Brazilian state and other countries, like Nigeria and Ethiopia. His efforts envisioned the potential to increase the number of kidney transplants, turning the Hospital do Rim, the world's largest public transplant center, performing over 900 transplants annually, with more than 17,500 in the last 23 years. His extensive academic activities include more than 420 peer-reviewed publications and the mentorship of undergraduate students. His last challenge was facing the COVID-19 pandemia, leading the São Paulo state committee to define and apply public health policies.