Kareti Venkata Krishna Reddy was born on 21 October 1929 at Gadur, Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh, India, the third son of Kareti Ranga Reddy and his wife Kareti Seshamma. His early education was at the High School in Gudur before being admitted to Madras Medical College. He qualified in 1953 and after 12 years working in Indian hospitals came to Britain in 1965. He passed both the Edinburgh and English Fellowships in 1966. Initially he worked as registrar in orthopaedics at Pembury Hospital and as registrar in general surgery at Gravesend and North Kent Hospital under Sol Cohen. Later he was appointed medical assistant to the accident and emergency department of the Medway Hospital, Gillingham, where he remained until shortly before his death aged 58 on 27 June 1988. He was unmarried.