Question

The first human heart transplant was performed in
1. America
2. England
3. South Africa
4. France

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : South Africa

The correct answer is South Africa.

• The first human heart transplant was performed in South Africa.
• First human heart transplant:
  • The first human heart transplant was performed on December 3, 1967.
  • The operation was led by a surgeon named Christiaan Barnard, in Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
  • At the time, it was one of the most widely publicized events in the world.
  • Louis Washkansky was the recipient of the heart.
  • The donor was Denise Darvall, a 25-year-old woman who had been fatally injured in a car accident.

• This first heart transplant and subsequent ongoing research in cardiac transplantation at the University of Cape Town and in a few other dedicated centres over the subsequent 15 years laid the foundation for heart transplantation to become a well-established form of therapy for end-stage cardiac disease.
• During this period from 1968 to 1983, Chris Barnard and his team continued to make major contributions to organ transplantation, notably the development of the heterotopic heart transplants; advancing the concept of brain death, organ donation and other related ethical issues; better preservation and protection of the donor's heart (including hypothermic perfusion storage of the heart; studies on the haemodynamic and metabolic effects of brain death; and even early attempts at xenotransplantation.