On December 3, 1967, the first human heart transplant was performed in Cape Town, South Africa. The patient was 53 years old. The method used by Dr. Christiaan Barnard had been pioneered in the U.S. by Dr. Norman Shumway. Dr. Barnard’s patient lived only 18 days because the anti-rejection drugs left him vulnerable to infection; he died of pneumonia. Within about 10 years, these drugs were improved, and patients were living up to five years with a transplanted heart.
