Medical Firsts In History

Human Heart Transplant

Christiaan Barnard Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa, 1967

Although heart transplants were initially seen as ethically controversial, they have revolutionised treatment for patients with serious cardiac problems

During the 20th century, great strides were made in organ transplantation. By the late 1960s, successful kidney, pancreas and liver transplants had taken place, but heart transplants continued to be unsuccessful–until 1967.

The world’s first successful human heart transplant was performed by surgeon Christiaan Barnard and his team. Louis Washkansky, a 53-year-old man terminally ill with heart failure, received the new heart. The donor was Denise Darvall, a 25-year-old woman who died in a car crash.

Washkansky became the first man to regain consciousness after a heart transplant but unfortunately, he died from pneumonia 18 days later. More heart transplants were performed over the next few years, but poor survival rates led to their decline.

In 1979, cardiac surgeon Terence English performed the UK’s first transplant with long-term success, and transplants were on the rise in the 1980s. The discovery of immunosuppressant ciclosporin changed the game, as it prevented the body from rejecting a new heart, although the drug had serious side effects.

Heart transplants are