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The world's first heart transplant was performed by Dr Chris Barnard in Cape Town on 3 December 1967. Barnard was born in the town of Beaufort West in 1922. The seeds of his future career were sown when one of his patients delivered a baby boy with a heart defect which could not be remedied. The baby died, causing him to think deeply about the need for remedial surgery and the replacement of heart valves. A turning point came when Barnard was offered a chance to work in Minneapolis in the US under Professor Wagensteen, a great teacher of experimental surgery. The heart-lung machine was perfected, and this turned out to be the  gateway to cardiac surgery. The idea of transplanting occurred to Barnard. If it was possible with kidneys, why not the heart? After more years of study in the US, he returned to South Africa with a parting gift from Prof Wagensteen – a heart-lung machine. Groote Schuur hospital was waiting his return in 1958 to start the first heart unit to perform a cardiac bypass operation. After performing the first successful kidney transplant on Edith Black, in October 1967 Barnard informed Professor Val Schrire, who had built up the cardiac clinic: "Everything is ready for a heart transplant. We have the team and we know how to do it." In November 1967, Schrire called Barnard and told him that there was a suitable patient for a heart transplant. Louis Washkansky was suffering from heart failure and was prepared to take the chance. The rest is history. Barnard passed away in Cyprus, Greece on 2 September 2001 from an acute asthma attack.

found on:[|http://www.southafrica.info/business/trends/innovations/inventions.ht][|m] media type="teachertube" key="ebd7c1e1b7118af88edc" width="400" height="350"this is so cool. questions about inproper fractions? this answers them all.