Christian Bernard

Quick Facts

Full Name	Christian Bernard
Occupation	Cardiac Surgeon
Date Of Birth	Nov 8, 1922(1922-11-08)
Age	102
Date Of Death	September 2, 2001,
Birthplace	Beaufort West
Country	South Africa
Birth City	Western Cape
Horoscope	Scorpio

Christian Bernard Biography

Christian Bernard is one of the most popular and richest Cardiac Surgeon who was born on November 8, 1922 in Beaufort West, Western Cape, South Africa.

Barnard grew up in Beaufort West, Cape Province, Union of South Africa. His father, Adam Barnard, was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church. One of his four brothers, Abraham, was a “blue baby” who died of a heart problem at the age of three (Barnard would later guess that it was tetralogy of Fallot). The family also experienced the loss of a daughter who was stillborn and who had been the fraternal twin of Barnard’s older brother Johannes, who was twelve years older than Chris. Barnard matriculated from the Beaufort West High School in 1940, and went to study medicine at the University of Cape Town Medical School, where he obtained his MB ChB in 1945.

Barnard’s first marriage was to Aletta Gertruida Louw, a nurse, whom he married in 1948 while practising medicine in Ceres. The couple had two children: Deirdre (born 1950) and Andre (1951–1984). International fame took a toll on his personal life, and in 1969, Barnard and his wife divorced. In 1970, he married heiress Barbara Zoellner when she was 19, the same age as his son, and they had two children: Frederick (born 1972) and Christiaan Jr. (born 1974). He divorced Zoellner in 1982. Barnard married for a third time in 1988 to Karin Setzkorn, a young model. They also had two children, Armin (born 1989) and Lara (born 1997), but this last marriage also ended in divorce in 2000.

Christian Bernard Net Worth

Christian Bernard is one of the richest Cardiac Surgeon from South Africa. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Christian Bernard 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world’s first highly publicised heart transplant and the first one in which the patient regained consciousness. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident- victim Denise Darvall into the chest of 54-year-old Louis Washkansky, with Washkansky regaining full consciousness and being able to easily talk with his wife, before dying 18 days later of pneumonia. The anti-rejection drugs that suppressed his immune system were a major contributing factor. Barnard had told Mr. and Mrs. Washkansky that the operation had an 80% chance of success, a claim which has been criticised as misleading. Barnard’s second transplant patient Philip Blaiberg, whose operation was performed at the beginning of 1968, lived for a year and a half and was able to go home from the hospital.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Christian Bernard height Not available right now. weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Christian Bernard Dating?

According to our records, Christian Bernard is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Christian Bernard’s is not dating anyone.

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Upon returning to South Africa in 1958, Barnard was appointed head of the Department of Experimental Surgery at Groote Schuur hospital, as well as holding a joint post at the University of Cape Town. He was promoted to full- time lecturer and Director of Surgical Research at the University of Cape Town. In 1960, he flew to Moscow in order to meet Vladimir Demikhov, a top expert on organ transplants (later he credited Demikhov’s accomplishment saying that “if there is a father of heart and lung transplantation then Demikhov certainly deserves this title.”) In 1961 he was appointed Head of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the teaching hospitals of the University of Cape Town. He rose to the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Cape Town in 1962. Barnard’s younger brother Marius, who also studied medicine, eventually became Barnard’s right-hand man at the department of Cardiac Surgery. Over time, Barnard became known as a brilliant surgeon with many contributions to the treatment of cardiac diseases, such as the Tetralogy of Fallot and Ebstein’s anomaly. He was promoted to Professor of Surgical Science in the Department of Surgery at the University of Cape Town in 1972. In 1981, Barnard became a founding member of the World Cultural Council. Among the many awards he received over the years, he was named Professor Emeritus in 1984.

Facts & Trivia

Ranked on the list of most popular Cardiac Surgeon. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in South Africa. Christian Bernard celebrates birthday on November 8 of every year.

Between December 1967 and November 1974 at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, ten heart transplants were performed, as well as a heart and lung transplant in 1971. Of these ten patients, four lived longer than 18 months, with two of these four becoming long-term survivors. One patient lived for over thirteen years and another for over twenty-four years.

Who is Christian Bernard?

Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world’s first human-to- human heart transplant operation.

What was Christian Bernard known for?

Barnard subsequently introduced the operation of heterotopic heart transplantation in which the donor heart acted as an auxiliary pump, with some advantages in that early era. It took great courage to carry out the first heart transplant, and this is why Barnard is remembered as a pioneer in cardiac surgery.

Who made the first heart transplant?

Thirty-five years ago today, surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant on a human being at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

Is Dr Christiaan Barnard still alive?

September 2, 2001

Is the first heart transplant patient still alive?

Although the first heart transplant patient survived only 18 days , four of Groote Schuur Hospital’s first 10 patients survived for more than one year, two living for 13 and 23 years, respectively.