The first ever heart transplant in the world was performed in South Africa in 1967. But did Dr Christiaan Barnard deserve all the credit?
The South African Civic Organisation has paid tribute to the Afrikaans author and scriptwriter for using his writing to denounce the "evil apartheid."
South Africa staked a claim to world-class expertise in cardiology since the moment the heart started to beat in the chest of Louis Washkansky.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK: Percy Zvomuya reviews Hidden Heart, documentary about Chris Barnard and his assistant, Hamilton Naki.
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/ 1 December 2007
Nearly forty years ago, in the middle of the night at a Cape Town hospital, South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard rewrote medical history when he carried out the first-ever heart transplant. The operation captivated the imagination of the world, catapulting Barnard and South Africa on to the world stage and leading to hundreds of similar operations around the globe.