Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 -- 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world 's first human - to - human heart transplant on December 3, 1967, and the second overall heart transplant (James Hardy did a xenotransplant in 1964). Growing up in Beaufort West, Cape Province, he studied medicine and practised for several years in his native country. As a young doctor experimenting on dogs, Barnard developed a remedy for the infant defect of intestinal atresia. His technique saved the lives of ten babies in Cape Town and was adopted by surgeons in Britain and the United States. In 1955, he travelled to the United States and was initially assigned further gastrointestinal work by Owen Wangensteen. Vince Gott introduced him to the heart - lung machine, and Barnard was allowed to transfer to the service run by open heart surgery pioneer Walt Lillehei. Upon returning to South Africa in 1958, Barnard was appointed head of the Department of Experimental Surgery at the Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town.
when was the first successful heart transplant performed
December 3, 1967