Our Story
Collaboration Drives Innovation
Christiaan Barnard pioneered the world’s first human to human heart transplant on the 3rd December 1967.
With a team of 30 it took 9 hours and put South Africa on the global medical map for a procedure that was thought to be impossible.
This innovation in medical science could not have be possible without two key collaborators: Denise Darvall who donated her heart and Dr Barnard’s assistant Hamilton Naki who started working as a gardener for the medical school and was appointed principle surgical assistant to Barnard in preparation for one of the most pioneering medical operations of all time.
Growth by Colab 