Doctor Phillip Blaiberg

Important Milestones

Doctor Phillip Blaiberg was a dentist who received the second successful heart transplant that was performed by Prof Chris Barnard and his medical team. He lived for 19 months and 15 days after receiving the donor’s heart but subsequently passed away on the 17^th of August 1969 due to heart complications.

Phillip Blaiberg was born in the small town of Uniondale on the 24^th of May 1909. Blaiberg moved to Oudtshoorn, a small town in the Karoo. After graduating from high school, Blaiberg studied at the University of Witwatersrand, situated in Johannesburg, but after a single year, he moved to London and pursued a career in Dentistry. After completing his studies in London Blaiberg decided to settle in Cape Town, where he opened a dentistry practice.

The Road to Deterioration

During the Second World War, Blaiberg joined the South African Army Medical Corps, where he served as a Captain, leading a dental unit in Italy and the Ethiopian empire. At the age of 45, Blaiberg experienced his first heart attack, which motivated him to close his practise and retire. 13 years later in 1967, Blaiberg’s health deteriorated, causing his heart to go into failure.

Previously, this meant certain death, but luckily for Blaiberg, Prof Barnard was fighting for the opportunity to perform the first successful heart transplant. As his health deteriorated, Prof Barnards success rate was improving and on the third of December 1967, Chris Barnard, along with his brother, Marius Barnard, and his equipped medical team- performed the first heart transplant on Louis Washkansky.

Controversy

On the 3rd of January of 1968, Dr Phillip Blaiberg received the heart of a 24-year-old donor- Clive Haupt. This was the most successful heart transplant yet, but many critics came forth as the donor was coloured and the recipient white. Yet, many focused on the statement that “The relief of suffering knows no colour bar”.

Although controversial, Blaiberg was quickly transcended into Heroism, as he was in high spirit only days after his operations. The surgery was a huge success and Blaiberg quickly returned to normal life. Blaiberg sadly passed away from chronic organ rejection on 17 August 1969, but his transplant gave way for the spreading of Heart transplants taking place around the globe. By the end of August 1968, there were 34 heart transplants performed, in contrast to December of 1968, where 100 hearts were transplanted.