National
Heart surgeon Marius Barnard dies─── 07:54 Sun, 16 Nov 2014
Cape Town - Heart surgeon Marius Barnard has died after battling prostate cancer for 17 years.
Independent Online reports the 87-year-old helped his brother Christiaan perform the world's first human heart transplant in Cape Town in 1967.
He died in Hermanus on Friday.
His son Adam, his two daughters and his wife Inez were present. Barnard's career began as a general physician in Zimbabwe.
In 1967, he moved to Cape Town where he joined the department of cardio thoracic surgery.
He went on to become a member of the first heart transplant team.
Barnard received awards for his contributions to medicine from various countries, including Italy, Greece and France.
He also played a leading role in the creation of critical illness insurance.
Independent Online
