On December 3, 1967, doctors at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa performed the first successful human heart transplant. Fifty-three-year-old Lewis Washkansky, who was dying from chronic heart disease, received his new heart when cardiac surgeon Christiaan N. Barnard led the nine-hour operation.
Washkansky’s new heart came from a 25-year-old woman named Denise Darvall. Darvall had worked as a bank clerk and enjoyed designing clothes.
Darvall had lost her life when she and her family were out for a family drive. At the time, Darvall and her mother were walking back to their car from a bakery when a car struck them. Darvall’s father, George Darvall, who from the family’s car had witnessed both his daughter and wife being killed, approved the heart donation when he thought of how generous and kind his daughter had been.
Although the transplant was successful, Washkansky died eighteen days later from double pneumonia. Unfortunately, drugs designed to keep his body from rejecting the new heart made him more susceptible to illness. During the eighteen days, though, his new heart worked well, giving hope to future heart transplant patients.
Singer Steve Earle has explained that to live life well you only need two things: “an inquisitive mind” and “a fearless heart.” On the third of December in 1967, the inquisitive minds of doctors, researchers, and scientists created a landmark achievement with the help of the fearless hearts of Lewis Washkansky, Denise Darvall, and George Darvall.
So, here is one of my all-time favorite Steve Earle songs, “Fearless Heart,” dedicated to the women and men who made this accomplishment possible and saved many lives.
The song “Fearless Heart” first appeared on Steve Earle’s excellent 1986 debut album, Guitar Town
Leonardo da Vinci Heart and its Blood Vessels drawing via public domain.
What is your favorite song about hearts? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)