Associate Professor John Carter
MNZM, BMedSci, MbChB, FRACP, FRCPA(ret)
It is with great sadness that we learnt last week of the death of Associate Professor John Carter.
John was Chair of the ANZSBT Research Committee for 11 years from 2008 until 2019, having originally joined the committee in 2005. Membership of the Research Committee is a voluntary role which requires a significant commitment of time and effort and John’s contribution and his insight and experience cannot be overstated. John was an enthusiastic advocate for transfusion medicine and science research and its value in ensuring our patients receive safe and effective treatments. Furthermore, his devotion to advancing research through our younger members was evident. His manner as Chair was diplomatic and considered, ensuring all members had a voice. Alongside his many accomplishments, his colleagues on the Research Committee also remember a hearty, larger than life man, with a great sense of humour who was a real pleasure to work with!
John was a greatly respected and admired member of the New Zealand haematology community and was Clinical Lead for Haematology at the Wellington hospital until his retirement in 2018. As others have noted John was admired for his clarity of thought and astuteness as a clinician. He had the ability to simplify complex problems and was always aware of the importance of the bigger clinical picture.
In his long association with Wellington Hospital John was responsible for establishing the Wellington Blood and Cancer Centre, and was a research consultant at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research. He was also a highly regarded teacher and lecturer at the Wellington Clinical School, where he regularly received the ‘Best Teacher’ award from undergraduate students. In recognition of his services to medicine John was a recipient of the Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2011.
I am sure many of the Society members benefited from John’s knowledge, wisdom and enthusiasm whether as colleagues in the haematology community, as students, through his mentoring of junior doctors, from hearing him speak at conferences and meetings, or his many peer-reviews journal articles. John was also a strong advocate of nursing colleagues and allied health and their value to the multidisciplinary team.
The ANZSBT is forever indebted to John for his many years of voluntary service to the Society and contribution to the advancement and promotion of research in Australia and New Zealand.
Our thoughts and our condolences go out to John’s wife Helen and their three children.