Dr Chris Barnard performs second heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital

Date: 2 Jan 1968
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Renowned surgeon, Dr Chris Barnard, performed his second heart transplant operation at Groote Schuur Hospital a month after his first transplant. Hamilton Naki was part of the team that assisted him. Barnard's second heart transplant operation was performed almost a month after the first, this time on Dr Philip Blaiberg, whose dauntless spirit made him a national hero in his own right. Blaiberg lived for twenty months. Surgeons worldwide followed Barnard's lead, and by October 1971, recorded heart transplants numbered 178. Twenty-seven patients had survived, but only five of these had lived longer than three years. Forty-year-old Mrs Dorothy Fisher was given a new heart in 1969 and became the longest surviving patient. Shortly after performing his first two historic operations, Barnard revealed that he was suffering from arthritis and that his hands were becoming crippled at the joints.

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01Answers, Christiaan Barnard, from Answers, [online], Available at www.answers.com [Accessed: 12 December 2013]
02The Telegraph, Christiaan Barnard, from The Telegraph, [online], Available at www.telegraph.co.uk [Accessed: 12 December 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Dr Chris Barnard performs second heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012092

South African History Online (2011) 'Dr Chris Barnard performs second heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012092 (Accessed: 1 October 2026).

South African History Online, Dr Chris Barnard performs second heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012092, (accessed 1 October 2026).

"Dr Chris Barnard performs second heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012092. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "Dr Chris Barnard performs second heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012092.