The “Cape Gateway” website has an interesting feature on the world’s first successful human-to-human heart transplant by Dr. Christiaan Barnard of South Africa:
Groote Schuur Hospital was placed centre stage in the world’s spotlight when Professor Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant on the third of December 1967. Sadly, Mr Louis Washkansky (pictured left) only lived for 18 days, succumbing in the end to pneumonia. His new heart beat strongly to the end.
The original theatre where this transplant was performed has been turned into a museum in honour of these pioneers of medicine, and to the first donor and recipient.
It may also be interesting to note that, according to the Hindustan Times’ Mumbai edition of 28th Mar 2008, there have been only 40 heart transplants in all of India, so far. The worldwide annual figure for heart transplants stands at 4,500, as per the data provided by the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation…
Read More:
The Cape Gateway story on Dr. Barnard | Wikipedia on Heart Transplantation
Update:
According to the Mumbai Mirror, 3 Apr 2008 :
Fourteen years after seven city hospitals were granted permission from the Health department to conduct heart transplants, not a single heart transplant surgery has been conducted in the city, for lack of donors.
