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  1. Home
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  3. December
  4. 3
  5. Heart transplant

Events on December 3 in history

Heart transplant
1967Dec, 3

At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, a transplant team headed by Christiaan Barnard carries out the first heart transplant on a human (53-year-old Louis Washkansky).

Groote Schuur Hospital is a large, government-funded, teaching hospital situated on the slopes of Devil's Peak in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It was founded in 1938 and is famous for being the institution where the first human-to-human heart transplant took place, conducted by University of Cape Town-educated surgeon Christiaan Barnard on the patient Louis Washkansky.

Groote Schuur is the chief academic hospital of the University of Cape Town's medical school, providing tertiary care and instruction in all the major branches of medicine. The hospital underwent major extension in 1984 when two new wings were added. As such, the old main building now mainly houses several academic clinical departments as well as a museum about the first human heart transplant.

The hospital is known for its trauma unit, anaesthesiology and internal medicine departments. Groote Schuur attracts many visiting medical students, residents and specialists each year who come to gain experience in various fields. As December 2006, the hospital employed over 500 doctors, 1300 nurses and 250 allied health professionals.Groote Schuur is Dutch for 'Great Barn' and is named after the original Groote Schuur estate laid out by Dutch settlers when the city of Cape Town was founded in the 17th century.

The hospital was declared a Western Cape Provincial Heritage Site in 1996.The N2, merged with the M3, bends around the hospital and Table Mountain National Park on a massive uphill 10-lane highway. This intersection has been named Hospital Bend due to its proximity to the hospital.

References

  • Groote Schuur Hospital
  • Cape Town
  • Christiaan Barnard
  • Heart transplant
  • Louis Washkansky

Choose Another Date

Events on 1967

  • 15Jan

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    The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.
  • 28Apr

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  • 30May

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    The Nigerian Eastern Region declares independence as the Republic of Biafra, sparking a civil war.
  • 7Jun

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    Six-Day War: Israeli soldiers enter Jerusalem.
  • 2Nov

    Lyndon B. Johnson

    Vietnam War: US President Lyndon B. Johnson and "The Wise Men" conclude that the American people should be given more optimistic reports on the progress of the war.

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