There had been two previous transplants of a human heart with both lungs attached, all in the U.S., and none of the recipients lived more than a few days. But last week, in Cape Town's Groote Schuur Hospital, Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed this feat of surgical bravura. The man who first transplanted a human heart has lost none of his daring or his ability to provoke controversy.
The patient was Adrian Herbert, 49, a dental technician. Emphysema had so ravaged his lungs that they scarcely functioned. This condition had overloaded the heart, and...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
