Heart specialist Dr. Chris Barnard dies

Doctor Christiaan Neethling Barnard circa 1967, official promotional studio photograph

Date: 2 Sep 2001
Updated: 2 Sep 2026

Christiaan Neethling Barnard, the world-famous medical pioneer who performed the world’s first heart transplant operation on Louis Washkansky, died at the age of 78 of an acute asthma attack in his hotel room in the coastal town of Phapos, on the Greek island Cyprus. Barnard was on holiday at the time of his death.

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01Biographies: Hall of Fame,Christiaan Neethling Barnard 8 November 1922 - 2 September 2001,[Online]. Available at: zar.co.za [Accesse: 02 September 2013]

Last updated · 2 Sep 2026

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Heart specialist Dr. Chris Barnard dies. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013506

South African History Online (2011) 'Heart specialist Dr. Chris Barnard dies', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013506 (Accessed: 21 September 2026).

South African History Online, Heart specialist Dr. Chris Barnard dies [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013506, (accessed 21 September 2026).

"Heart specialist Dr. Chris Barnard dies." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013506. Accessed 21 Sept. 2026.

South African History Online. "Heart specialist Dr. Chris Barnard dies." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013506.