1922-

South African Surgeon

Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant in 1967 in South Africa. Barnard's surgery focused attention on the rapidly developing field of organ transplantation and sparked social and philosophical debates concerning the ethics of transplantation. Following Barnard's pioneering efforts, more than 30,000 human heart transplants have been completed worldwide.

Barnard was born in Beaufort West, which is in the Cape of Good Hope province of South Africa. Barnard studied medicine at The University of Cape Town, where he received an M.D. in 1953. Shortly afterwards, Barnard left South Africa to continue his studies at the University of Minnesota, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1958. While in Minnesota, Barnard was trained by C. Wallton Lillehei (1918-1999), who is considered the "father" of open-heart surgery. Barnard changed his specialty from general to cardiothoracic surgery and assisted Lillehei's team with research, which led...