He studied medicine at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was also an offensive tackle for the college's football team, and played in the 1949 Rose Bowl.
[2] After college, Najarian achieved success as a transplant surgeon, and soon joined the University of Minnesota under Owen Wangensteen, whom he succeeded in 1967 as head of the surgical department.
[4][8] He was the doctor that announced to the media the discovery of the inoperable tumor on Hubert Humphrey's pelvic bone in August 1977.
[9] One of Najarian's most famous medical operations was a liver transplant which occurred at the University of Minnesota in 1982, and had infant Jaime Fiske as his patient.
[11] Najarian was later acquitted of these charges,[12] with the presiding judge and legal and medical experts questioning the motives and purposes of FDA prosecutors and regulators.