John Richard Russell, 58, was serving a life sentence for murder in Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman when he developed cancer in his left lung. His right lung was also diseased, though not cancerous, and an acute kidney inflammation made it clear that he had not long to live. Not surprisingly, Russell accepted the suggestion of Dr. James Hardy that he volunteer to be the first human being to receive a transplanted lung. At the University Medical Center at Jackson, Dr. Hardy gave Russell the left lung of a patient who had just died of a heart attack.
Dr. Hardy...
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