A Harvard professor is suing two Harvard teaching hospitals, charging them with age and disability discrimination after they released him from his administrative responsibilities as chief of organ transplant programs last April.

In the suit, Anthony P. Monaco, Medawar professor of transplantation surgery, has said that the much-publicized merger of New England Deaconess and Beth Israel Hospitals may have contributed to his demotion.

His discrimination claim is rooted in the fact that he has used esophageal speech since his larynx was removed two years ago because of cancer.

The professor is also alleging that a younger doctor, Roger Jenkins, 45, maneuvered to get his position during the merger.

Monaco, 64, has been teaching at Harvard Medical School since 1962.

In an interview yesterday, Monaco said the hospital told him he was released because of disloyalty, after he advised a former student not to accept a job offer from Deaconess.

Monaco, who is not suing for any monetary damages, said he is more concerned about the issues in the case, especially about having the freedom to mentor his former students.

"I feel strongly that as a professor and a teacher, one must have the academic freedom to advise your students and proteges that look up to you as a mentor," he said. "One must have the freedom to advise them what's best for their career regardless of the institution's interpretation of how it will affect the institution."

Monaco also said he was worried about the eventual consequences of what he perceives as a new focus on fiscal concerns in hospitals.

"I will only state that there are many people in the academic community who are concerned that short-term financial considerations are influencing unduly certain deci- sions which can have a long-term negative impact on academic teaching and research to the potential long-term detriment of patient care."

Both hospitals had prepared statements denying the validity of Monaco's claims.

"Dr. Monaco has been an active and valued member of the medical staff for many years and he continues his clinical and academic affiliations with the Deaconess," Erin C. Martin, spokesperson for Deaconess. "We deeply regret that he has chosen to bring a legal action; however, we have evaluated the allegations and have found them totally without merit. We are confident that the outcome will support this conclusion."

Patty J. Jacobs, spokesperson for Beth Israel, expressed similar sentiments.

"We of course regret that Dr. Monaco has chosen to take legal action but on evaluation of the allegations, we have found them to be without merit and we believe that a court would agree," said Jacobs.

But several of Monaco's fellow surgeons and instructors said his claims are legitimate.

"The major issue is a surgeon, world-renowned and nationally-renowned who has developed the kidney transplant program at the Deaconess Hospital for the past 27 years, and he has just been given by Harvard a full professorship of immunology," said Anthony I. Sahyoun, assistant clinical professor of surgery. "Suddenly, he finds himself being pushed out by a young person at the hospital who is ambitious."