Original General Surgery Theatres
Theatres A and B, are the original General Surgery theatres used for the first human heart transplant.
Everything in them is laid out to create a fully authentic representation of the pioneering operation which took place at Groote Schuur Hospital on the 3rd of December 1967. Visit Heart Of Cape Town to see the theatres where the first heart transplant took place.
Denise Darvall
After having been declared brain dead, Denise Darvall was brought to Theatre B, the donor theatre, shortly after midnight. She was prepared for surgery, by Dr Marius Barnard and his team. At 03.00 a.m. her heart was eventually harvested for transplantation into the recipient Louis Washkansky who lay waiting in the adjoining Theatre A. Denise’s kidneys were harvested and sent to Karl Bremer hospital, where they helped save a young boy’s life.
“Dit Gaan Werk!”- when they knew the first heart transplant was going to be successful!
In Theatre A, Professor Chris Barnard, assisted by Rodney Hewitson, carefully sewed the donor heart into place in Washkansky’s chest. In total the operation lasted four and three quarter hours.
At precisely 06.13 a.m. Washkansky’s new heart began to beat strongly and Professor Chris Barnard looked with shining eyes at his team and said in Afrikaans “Dit gaan werk!” – “It’s going to work!”
Read more about the life and accident of Denise Darvall here.
