Christiaan Barnard is one of the most popular faces of cardiac surgeons. He was born on 8 November 1922 in Beaufort, Cape Province, in South Africa. He is the first surgeon to have performed the world’s first human-to-human heart transplant operation, and this surgery was considered successful as the recipient of the heart survived for 18 days and then succumbed to pneumonia. This was the result of his immune system being suppressed because of the anti-rejection drugs.
Success Story Christiaan Barnard
His childhood was filled with losses. He was born to Adam Barnard and Maria Elisabeth de Swart. His father was a minister in a Dutch Reformed church. His younger brother, Abraham, died of a heart problem at an early age of 3. His family had also suffered the loss of their stillborn daughter. His father and mother were strong believers that one could achieve anything if they just put their minds to it.
Christiaan studied at the Beaufort West High School and went to the University of Cape Town for his medical studies. Here, he obtained his MB ChB in 1945.
He started his career as an intern in the residency at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. Then, he began his career in the rural town of Ceres as a general practitioner.
By 1951, Barnard started working as a registrar in the city hospital in the Department of Medicine. He obtained his master’s degree in medicine in 1953. Focusing on the treatment of tuberculous meningitis. He would often experiment on dogs to investigate the problem of intestinal atresia. His work created a surgical technique that was used to save many infants from this issue.
In 1955, he traveled to Minnesota, where he received a scholarship to study under the tutelage of various surgeons at the University of Minnesota. Here, he was introduced to the heart and lung machine and open heart surgery. After returning from the USA in 1958, he was solely responsible for creating the first heart unit at Groote Schuur Hospital. This division focused on cardiothoracic surgeries.
On December 3, 1967, he successfully transplanted a heart in the patient, Louis Washkansky, from a young woman who died in an accident. This operation was the first-ever human-to-human heart transplant and was an immense success. The receiver survived and thrived for another 18 days and eventually died from pneumonia, which was caused by the immunosuppressive drugs in his body. This surgery was a lighthouse in the history of medical surgeries. Barnard immediately started capturing global attention and became a recognized face. His next transplant surgery was even better, where the patient survived for 19 months. This proved that heart transplant was indeed a viable option, and with time, the surgery could be further improved.
Christiaan had various other contributions apart from his specific heart transplant techniques. He innovated the heterotopic heart transplant, which increases the survival chance of the patient in an open heart surgery. Barnard is an exceptional writer who has published various novels and a political appraisal of South Africa. He had also crafted a biography. He later on went on to become a notable public speaker and had produced television documentaries.
Barnard’s personal life was extremely eventful. He married his first wife in 1948, with whom he had two kids, and divorced her in 1969. He later on married Barbara Zoellner in 1970 and again had two kids with her and later on divorced her in 1982. Finally, he married Karin Stezkorn in 1988 and later on divorced her in 2000. His public image kept on growing due to his success in the medical environment.
He suffered from rheumatoid arthritis in his hand, which caused him to retire in 1983. After his retirement, he worked on various projects and produced TV documentaries. Wrote novels and was extremely active in philanthropic work. On September 2, 2001, he died of an asthma attack while vacationing in Cyprus.
One of the debated topics about his life is his inspiration towards becoming a surgeon. It is said that he wanted to be a surgeon because of his personal tragedy, but he has also mentioned that the desire for financial security was a strong motivation for him to be inclined towards a medical profession. His groundbreaking achievements had their own controversies; his morals related to his transplant surgeries were always questioned. All these never deterred him, and he remained an influential figure in the medical industry. His legacy is a powerful image of courage and innovation. He is still remembered today for his ability to take risks in challenging situations and come out as an innovator. He started from a humble background in a rural village in South Africa and became a global figure in medical history.
