7 Fascinating Facts About the Human Heart

The World’s First Successful Human Heart Transplant Was a Worldwide Sensation

Surgeons in the U.S. and Europe began to conduct heart transplants in animals in the early 20th century, but the first procedure on a human subject didn’t take place until 1964. In that operation, a chimpanzee’s heart was transplanted into a critically ill man who did not survive for long. Three years later, the first successful human-to-human heart transplant was performed at a South African hospital by Dr. Christaan Barnard and his team.

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