Hamilton Naki

The humble beginnings of a great man

Hamilton Naki was the laboratory assistant to Professor Chris Barnard.  He played a phenomenal role in the first heart transplant process, taking the lead in organ transplant research in animals. Naki never received any formal medical education and started his career as a gardener at the University of Cape Town.

Naki was born on June 26, 1926, in Ngcingwane, a small village in the Transkei. There, his school career halted at the age of 14, when he moved to Langa, Cape Town. In 1940, he started his gardening career at the University of Cape Town, specializing in rolling grass tennis courts. He worked as a Gardener till 1954 when Robert Goetz asked him to assist in the animal laboratory. He slowly progressed from cleaning the cages of the animals to administering anesthesia to the animals. His job was mainly limited to anesthetizing dogs but managed to assist Dr. Goetz in an operation on a giraffe- to determine why the animals do not faint when bending over to drink water.

This exposure gave him the knowledge to work with medical pioneer Chris Barnard, who was at that time still studying open-heart surgery techniques that he learned and observed in the United States.

Hamilton Naki’s career with Barnard started with simply performing anesthetics on animals but was quickly appointed to the Principal surgical assistant of the laboratory- as he showed remarkable skills as well as dexterity. Chris Barnard recalled that Hamilton Naki was the greatest researcher of all time in the field of a heart transplant.

The Teacher and pioneer

The research team moved out of the surgical research laboratory in 1968. Naki was part of the team that developed the heterotopic (or piggyback) heart transplant technique. He left the transplant team in 1970, returning to liver transplantation. During his career, he taught many students various techniques. He received the Bronze Order of Mapungubwe for his contributions.

Hamilton Naki’s family consisted of four sons, one daughter, and a wife. His family was located in Transkei, while Naki lived and worked in Cape Town. He was a humble man who lived in a one-bedroom apartment, without any water or electricity. Most of his salary was sent to his family in the Transkei but he could sadly only afford to pay for one of his children to finish high school.

After retirement, Naki was very committed to helping the community of Kenanti, a place where some of his family had settled. He took part in the construction of a school as well as the provision of a medical clinic.

He passed on 29 May 2005 at the age of 78 due to a heart attack.