Charles Best (medical scientist) and Noble flipped a coin to see which would assist Banting first. Best won and took the first shift. Loss of the coin toss proved unfortunate for Noble, given that Banting decided to keep Best for the entire summer and eventually shared half of his Nobel Prize money and a part of the credit for the discovery of insulin. Had Noble won the toss, his career might have taken a different path. MacLeod was overseeing the work of Banting, who had no experience of physiology, and his assistant Best. In December, when Banting and Best were having difficulties in refining
Frederick Banting Mackey, the sole survivor, Banting died from his injuries the next day. Banting was "en route" to England to conduct operational tests on the Franks flying suit developed by his colleague Wilbur Franks. Banting and his wife are buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto. In 1994 Banting was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was nominated as one of the top 10 "Greatest Canadians" by viewers of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. When the final votes were counted, Banting finished fourth behind Tommy Douglas, Terry Fox and Pierre Trudeau. Banting's namesake, the Banting Research Foundation,