Dr. Fiser is the Medical Director of ARORA, the Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery
Agency. ARORA manages all organ and tissue donation, recovery and allocation for
transplantation in Arkansas. During his term as Medical Director, organ donation
in Arkansas has doubled and tissue donation has quadrupled.
Dr. Fiser was a pioneer in the heart transplant field, performing the first heart
transplant in Arkansas in 1989 at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock. As research
director of Cardiovascular Surgery at Arkansas Children's Hospital, he helped develop
and gain FDA approval for the mechanical cardiac support as a bridge to heart transplant
in infants and children.
While in private practice at Cardiac Surgery, he pioneered a number of innovative
procedures such as the Ross Procedure, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, heart
valve repair and using human homograft as heart valve replacements. He also cofounded
a music publishing company in Nashville, Tenn., and worked with well-known musicians
such as George Strait and groups such as Diamond Rio on Grammy-nominated compositions.
Dr Fiser is a 1975 graduate of Hendrix with a degree in biology. He attended
UAMS College of Medicine, interned at the University of Minnesota in Surgery, and
completed General Surgery and Thoracic Surgery residency at UAMS. He was board certified
in both General and Thoracic Surgery, is active in professional organizations, and
serves on numerous boards and national committees. Dr. Fiser says his Odyssey is
about change and adapting to change.