First+Heart+Transplant

First Heart Transplant

Stacey Nash Mr. Burkhart Honors American History May, 16 2011

The first heart transplant was preformed in 1967 by Christiaan N. Barnard a surgeon in South Africa. On December 3 1967, Louis Washkansky was the first human to have a successful human heart transplant. Heart transplants are preformed on patients with sever or final stage heart conditions that threaten there lives. Most often these patients will recieve a new heart from a recently deceased doner that will be surgicaly inserted into the recipiant and act as their new heart.

The first patient to recieve a successful human heart transplant was Louis Washkansky a 54 year old patient who had extensive coronary artery disease. The surgeon that completed the surgery was [|Christiaan N. Branard], he was born in South Africa and studied at the University of Cape Town. Later he went to the US and graduated from University of Minnesota Medical schoool with his Ph.D. Barnard was also well known for being the first to use hypothermia, the artifical lowering of the body temperature, and intorducing an effective heart-lung machine, used during heart surguries.

The transplant was done on December 2, 1967 the donor heart came from a yound woman who was killed in a car accident. For the transplanat Washkansky was placed on a heart-lung machin that would continue to circulate his blood untill his diseased heart could be replaced with the new one. In the opperation the old heart is removed except for the great vessels and the back of the left atrium as it contains the pulmonory veins. The new heart is then sutured to the great vessels, the left atrium, and the vena cave. Then Washkansky's hew heart was started and they removed the heart-lung machin letting the new heart pump blood on its own. After that Washkansky was closed up anad moved to the ICU.

This represents a great stepping stone in medical achievments, by proving that a transplant with an human heart can be completed and successful, many people who suffer from sever heart conditions have a chance to live longer. It also showed that if we try many things can be achieved that will benefit man kind.

Sources: "Barnard, Christiaan N. (1922-2001)." //Encyclopedia of World Biography//. Detroit: Gale, 1998. //Gale World History In Context//. Web. 19 May 2011. Document URL []  “first heart transplant.” //Wikimedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2011. [].