When Was the First Successful Organ Transplant?

Organ transplantation was long considered impossible because the immune system would reject foreign tissue. Dr Joseph Murray and his team overcame this by performing the transplant between identical twins — whose genetic identity meant no immune rejection. Donor Ronald Herrick gave one kidney to his twin Richard, who survived 8 more years (dying in 1963 of causes unrelated to the transplant). Murray received the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The next breakthrough was immunosuppressive drugs: the introduction of cyclosporine in 1983 revolutionised transplantation by preventing rejection in unrelated donors. Key milestones include: first heart transplant by Christiaan Barnard in Cape Town (1967, patient survived 18 days), first liver transplant by Thomas Starzl (1963), and first hand transplant (1998). Today, about 150,000 organ transplants are performed worldwide annually, but the shortage of donors means roughly 100,000 people die waiting each year.