Ara Darzi

Excerpt from The Times (London)
January 11, 2005, Tuesday

Knight, surgeon, author and porter

by Anjana Ahuja

Professor Sir Ara Darzi: a pioneer of minimally invasive surgery ARA DARZI once received a memorable phone call from a colleague. There was a rumour going around, the colleague explained worriedly, that one of the hospital porters had masqueraded as a doctor and, during the night, had operated on one of Darzi's patients.

Any other surgeon might have been speechless with horror but Darzi's response was to chuckle. His colleague was right about the charade but had nobbled the wrong man. It was, in fact, Darzi who had perpetrated the deception.

...

Sir Ara, 44, and spent much of his childhood in Ireland - the accent is still audible, especially when he is being lighthearted - and he applied for medicine there. When he arrived at university, it seemed to him that medical students, with their late nights and fondness for alcohol, had so much more fun than anyone else. He loved it. Lord Ara Darzi was part of the labor government under Tony Blair few years ago as a minister of health and is a renowned Professor of Surgery in London and is in his late 40s/very early 50s (as of 2011). He did innovative work on robotic surgery and when he was in office he produced a White Paper on organization of health care services in Britain. He is somewhat involved with the Armenian community and has been to Armenia two years ago (2009) offering collaboration and contribution.

His mother was very much active in the Hay Oknutian lady's orgnaization in Baghdad.