1st "successful" HUMAN HEART TRANSPLANT goes back to importance of
. . DEFINITION . . Or . . In this case . . to the "Absence Of . . Definition"
Even more clearly . . a LEGAL LOOPHOLE !
. . And . . the importance of . . . the Legal Definition of . . . "DEAD". . .
Is a human being DEAD . . when . . the Heart "STOPS Beating" ?
Is a human being DEAD . . when . . the Brain . . . is pronounced . . 'Dead' ?
Is a human being DEAD . . when . . the Heart AND Brain are . . 'Dead' ?
And . . Who is . . THIS man . . before . .
Before . . he becomes . . THIS man . . ( Age 45 ) ?
THIS is the man who . . found . . the Loophole !
His Name . . CHRISTIAAN BARNARD
Born . Raised . Educated . in South Africa
Born . Raised . Educated . in South Africa
known for . . .
Will . Endurance . Leader of the Band . Risk - Taker . Long - Distance Athlete
( Notice where all these traits eventually lead him ! )
To LEARN HOW . . to perform . . SURGERY
. . he Crossed Continents to begin work on a 6 - Year Challenge
FIRST Degree . Master of Science . . . in Surgery
SECOND Degree . Doctor of Philosophy . . . in Surgery
6 Years Work Accomplished in . . 2 Years !
His First . . Heart Surgeries . . were Performed on . . DOGS
Much Research Work was being done in America in the 1950s .. 60s .. 70s
. . related to Heart Transplant.
The United States . . Legal 'Definition' . . of DEATH . . required . .
that a Heart 'CEASE Beating' . . BEFORE . . 'Excision' ( removal )
Abiding by that Law . . Medical Records . . showed a . .
100% . . 'Heart Transplant' FAILURE rate
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The RACE was definitely on :
. . . And Christiaan Bernard ( by now back in Cape Town from Minnesota )
. . . Full of Determination and Daring
. . . Focused . . ( NOT on "keeping people ALIVE")
. . . He wanted a 'SUCCESSFUL' . . Heart Transplant . . . ( Period ! )
_____
Barnard recalls :
" We ( Cardiac Surgeons the World over ) . . were all standing . . Shivering around the Pool
Waiting to see . . WHO WOULD DARE . . to JUMP IN FIRST. "
( A U.S. doctor . . was being convicted of 'Murder'
. . for Bending the Law . . using a Heart that had 'NOT CEASED' beating)
_____
Barnard decided to "peek into" . . "SOUTH AFRICAN" Law
. . He discovered that . . the Word "DEATH" . . . was NOT 'defined'
. . He had FOUND . . the "LOOPHOLE" he needed . . to proceed
Now . . the NEXT Issue would be . .
"HOW to SELECT the . . RECIPIENT . . of the Heart ?" And . . .
"WHO . . will make the . . DECISION ?" And . . .
"WHOSE . . HEART . . will they use ?"
They needed a DONOR !
_____
The first two 'potential' Donors . . were BLACK
. . and This was during . . APARTIED !
Answer : "NO!" "No black heart is going into a white man !"
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About . . 6 Months later . . (1967)
. . at THIS INTERSECTION . . East of downtown Cape Town . .
. . Denise Darvall . . Age 25 . . and her Mother . . crossing THIS STREET
. . to pick up some Bakery items for their Family Picnic
. . are thrown 40 Feet by an on - coming car . . Mom Darvall is killed instantly
_____
Denise . . Brain DEAD . . but . . 'Heart BEATING' . .
. . becomes the First Donor of the FIRST "Successful" Human Heart "Transplant" . .
MR. Darvall ( Dad ) has just witnessed the death of his Wife . .
And is now . . in the dying moments of 'his ONLY Daughter'
. . being asked to GRANT Permission TO . .
REMOVE 'Her' . . "LIVING" Heart . . to GIVE IT to . . a "DYING" Man
. . In order that . . HE . . 'might ' . . LIVE !
( Without the benefit of today's hindsight ) . . Put YOURSELF in HIS . . 'agonizing' . . position
( He's still in . . "shock" ) and you too would barely be able to utter the words . .
"I never felt so ALONE in all the world"
The entire Story . . has been Re - Created . . for 2 - Hour Public Tours
. . in the SAME Hospital building where the ACTUAL transplant occurred
. . It's convincingly realistic !
Guide says: "So far . . I haven't seen anything 'MOVE' . .
but if I do . . I'm getting the hell out of here!"
A NEW Hospital by the same Name . . has been erected beside the original building
. . The original building is now used for . . Medical Internships of
Students from around the World . . for multiple medical topics !
Without . . high tech . . Surgery Lenses . . in those days . . Docs here ( at this time )
worked with . . 'the naked eye'!
Blood - Soaked Cloths are 'weighed'
. . to measure "how much" blood needs to be infused back into the patient's body . .
Rusty and Wrinkles make a Hospital Visit to . .
54 Year Old . . Louis Washkansky
1st "successful" Human Heart Transplant Patient ( Dec. 3, 1967 ) Cape Town, South Africa
He . . died of . . 'Pneumonia' . . 18 days later
1st ( Top left Heart ) . . is Louis Washkansky's . .
2nd ( Center top Heart ) . . is donor "Denise" . .
3rd . . is Healthy Heart
(2) . . replaced with a 26 Year Old black man's Heart (Center bottom) lasted 18 months
(3) (Bottom right) is black woman's Heart who had Rheumatic Fever since
childhood . . Her Transplant lasted 13 years.
_____
"Groote Schuur" Hospital built on the "Big Farm" owned by Cecil B. Rhodes
. . who donated the land with the stipulation . . that a Hospital be erected on the Property
. . It later becomes the scene of the First Human Heart Transplant . .
Still standing in 2015 . . Now a Medical Teaching Facility
. . used by students around the Globe !
Right . . 'beside . . the original' . . Groote Schuur
. . a NEWER BUILDING serves as TODAY'S . . . Groote Schuur Hospital . .
The Guide says . . Christiaan Barnard was very Charismatic
. . Loved to be in the Limelight and was . . rather difficult to get along with.
Following the famous transplant ( which took place with NO photos by anyone )
. . . News ( and FAME ) spread quickly
His Family Life ( with 2 children ) had suffered for years
. . . Wife # 1 filed for Divorce
He was an . . . Unapologetic 'Womanizer'
. . . Wife # 2 was . . . about a decade younger . . . They had 2 children
. . . and in approximately 10 years . . . Divorced
'Womanizing' continued . . .
. . . Wife # 3 was . . . several decades younger
. . . To her his 5th and 6th children were born
. . . and that Marriage also ended in Divorce.
His last years were very . . Lonely . . and . . Sad
He died on the . . . Island of Cypress
( 2 months short of his 79th birthday )
following a massive Asthma attack at the swimming pool
( his . . 'Heart' . . was healthy )
_____
The FATHER of the first donor died shortly after the tragic loss of his wife and daughter
FIRST DONOR Denise had 2 Younger BROTHERS . . ( ages 14 and 17 )
. . . They still live in Cape Town
. . . have never married or fathered children
. . . still suffer from their (plural) losses
. . . and refuse to participate in memorial events
interviews . . or publicity of any kind
_____
Whew !!! This . . is a story rich with . . profound Discussion Material
Rusty and Wrinkles had this
Tour of . . Groote Schuur Hospital
. . high on their priority list
What a thought - provoking 2 Hours !
_____
South Africa . . is very proud to have remained a Leader in this field
____________________
All the heart transplant stuff makes me think of my brother Tom when he died we donated need his heart cornea and kidneys. Louise got to meet the man who got his heart. I believe he is still doing well
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