Heart Transplantation 1967 – Living Again

Journalist Laura Fitzpatrick writes: 

"Throughout recorded history, many doctors regarded the human heart as the mysterious, beating seat of the soul, a delicate structure that should not be disturbed." 

However, heart transplantation, in which a recipient's damaged heart is replaced with a healthy heart from a deceased donor, became possible with the invention of the heart-lung machine in 1953. This device temporarily bypasses the heart and lungs during surgery, ensuring adequate oxygenation of the blood ("The Heart-Lung Machine – 1953").

In 1964, American surgeon James Hardy performed the first heart transplant by placing a chimpanzee's heart in the chest of a dying man (no human heart was available). The animal's heart beat inside the patient but was too small to sustain him. The patient died after 90 minutes. 

The world's first successful human-to-human heart transplant was performed in 1967 by South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard. The heart of a young woman who had died in a traffic accident was removed and transplanted into Louis Washkansky, a 54-year-old man with heart disease. Washkansky woke up and spoke a day later. He lived for 18 days before dying of pneumonia caused by the immunosuppressive medicines he was taking to prevent rejection of the foreign organ tissue.

The discovery in 1972 of cyclosporine, a compound derived from a fungus, made organ transplantation much more successful. It suppressed organ rejection while allowing much of the body's immune system to function normally and fight common infections. The outlook for heart transplant patients was no longer so bleak. For example, American Tony Huesman lived for 31 years with a transplanted heart. 

Organs that can be transplanted today include the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, and intestines. 

In 1982, American researcher Robert Jarvik implanted the first permanent artificial heart.

Description of the Article Image: Dr. Christiaan Neethling Barnard and Louis Washkansky

Historical Figures Mentioned in This Article: James D. Hardy (1918–2003), Christiaan Neethling Barnard (1922–2001), Robert Koffler Jarvik (b. 1946)

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