40 hearty cheers...
2007-12-03 21:16
Cape Town - Dozens of heart-transplant recipients gathered on Monday at Groote Schuur Hospital where the procedure was first performed 40 years ago in a feat that subsequently saved all of their lives.
The group converged for an understated tea party at the hospital where pioneer surgeon Christiaan Barnard transplanted the first heart in 1967, making medical history and giving hope to thousands.
Hendrika van Wyk, 43, one of the hospital's longest surviving heart transplant patients, said: "I have a new life."
She had her operation in 1984 at the age of 20, having been born with a severely weakened heart muscle.
"Before the operation, I was very sick. I couldn't bath myself and my sisters had to dress me," she said.
Survival rate improved drastically
"I am a different person today. I work a full day as an administrative clerk on a flower farm, I have a husband and a 13-year-old daughter. I have been blessed."
Although Barnard's first patient, Louis Washkansky, lived for just 18 days, his second survived for 1½years and heart transplants became a global phenomenon.
Dr Johan Brink, who heads Groote Schuur's heart-transplant unit, said only about a tenth of patients survived the operation for longer than two years in the procedure's early phase.
This changed drastically with the invention of new immuno-suppression medication in the 1980s, when the procedure became standard therapy.
"Our unit has done 516 transplants in the past 40 years, most of them in the last 15 years," Brink told the gathering.
Living every day to its full
"What really makes it worthwhile is to see patients who were at death's door living healthy lives."
Henry Finnis, 70, recalled how he was unable to tie his own shoelaces before his transplant. "I couldn't even speak a sentence without getting out of breath. I was useless.
"I started contemplating suicide."
Today, after receiving the heart of an 18-year-old youngster killed by a car, Finnis can enjoy leisurely nature walks and ballroom dancing.
"It is 14 years since the transplant," he said, "and I have been making use of every single day." - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA