5 Quotes & Sayings By Christiaan Barnard

Christiaan Barnard was born in South Africa and trained as a doctor. In 1928, he became Professor of Surgery at the University of Cape Town, and he became internationally renowned as a surgeon for his pioneering work on the treatment of tuberculosis. He developed a radical new technique, by which the patient's blood was replaced with fresh blood from another person. Using this technique, Barnard and his colleagues were able to extend the lives of many patients with tuberculosis and prevent them from falling victim to the horrible disease Read more

The technique is still used today and is considered by many to be the single most important step forward in the treatment of tuberculosis since its discovery in 1882. Barnard also pioneered two other major medical advances: the kidney dialysis machine, which enabled patients to receive a continuous supply of clean blood from another person, and artificial heart valves. In 1985 he became the first person to receive the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his development of heart surgery.

1
It is infinitely better to transplant a heart than to bury it to be devoured by worms. Christiaan Barnard
2
For a dying man it is not a difficult decision [to agree to become the world's first heart transplant] ... because he knows he is at the end. If a lion chases you to the bank of a river filled with crocodiles, you will leap into the water convinced you have a chance to swim to the other side. But you would not accept such odds if there were no lion. Christiaan Barnard
3
Suffering isn't ennobling, recovery is. Christiaan Barnard
4
I don't believe medical discoveries are doing much to advance human life. As fast as we create ways to extend it we are inventing ways to shorten it. Christiaan Barnard