OPEN HEART SURGERY CONTROVERSY

GROOTE SCHUUR SURGERY

"The Economist" newspaper interview with Hamilton Naki reported in its obituary section, that Mr. Hamilton Naki was an assistant in the first human heart transplant in which he removed the heart from the donor, Denise Darvall. This account of the story came directly from the horses mouth, in Hamilton Naki's very own words.

Hamilton Naki the black laboratory assistant who assisted white cardiac
surgeon Christiaan Barnard in South Africa under apartheid.

But according to a controversial documentary entitled "Hidden Heart", Doctor Marius Barnard, brother to the world renown Dr Christiaan Barnard removed her heart. Dr Christiaan Bernard openly admitted in this docy, and I quote, “given the opportunity, Mr Naki would have been a better surgeon than me”. However, Dr Christiaan Barnard also goes to great lengths in this documentary to describe Mr Naki's skill and abilities as a surgeon even though they would never have been acknowledged under the apartheid system. But the most remarkable thing about this denial or deception, is that an honorary degree was conferred on Naki by the University of Cape Town. Thabo Mbeki, the then president of South Africa even paid tribute to Naki's achievements with a handshake.

Hamilton Naki at his capping.

Hamilton Naki comes from Ngcingane, a small village outside Centani in the Transkei interior. Initially he was employed as a gardener at Groote Schuur Hospital South Africa, where he later requested to take-up an available position to tend to the animals at the university laboratories. To Naki's surprise the animals in question was not sheep, cows, and goats as expected which he tendered as a boy but rather dogs, rats and guinea pigs.

Despite his lack of education, formal medical training, and official credentials his technical abilities were recognized. Hamilton  quickly learnt the techniques of operations, anesthesia and post-operative care and as a consequence obtained permission to continue research in the laboratory. However, being black, he would never have become a surgeon during the Apartheid era since it was illegal for a black man to touch a white patient. But in the laboratories he performed numerous heart transplants on animals assisted by specific members of the elite first heart transplant team. Naki proved his competency daily, hence Christiaan's remark above. But under the apartheid system, no black was allowed to hols a scalpel in his hand nor claim to be a physician or for that matter a surgeon without the necessary qualifications / credentials.

This is but one of the heinous injustices dished out by the apartheid system. Karren Barnard daughter of Dr Christiaan Barnard is up in arms about the fact that neither her dad nor Naki was still alive to confirm or deny the truth of this apparent lie and fraud committed under the banner of apartheid. The controversy regarding this issue continues. Once again one of the proudest moments in South African history may have been one of its most shameful and a source of controversy 365 days per year!

For the full story click HERE!

Many would agree that the Pigs who engineered the apartheid system dealt non-whites an evil hand. To read about apartheid go HERE!

CONTROVERSIAL MEDICINE

THE FIRST HEART TRANSPLANT

A controversial documentary called Hidden Heart  flighted on TV, preempted the fallout of the world's first successful human heart transplant, perhaps an attempt to soften the blow of possible credibility theft. The question is why? Is there perhaps more to it than meets the eye? An elite team of medical professionals at Groote Schuur Hospital were all human heart transplant trained and on standby, waiting for the event of the century, in which to partake. Training was done, meaning similar procedures had already been done before albeit on animals (pigs and rats) and everyone involved, attained proficiency thereat, hence on standby -waiting off line.

The operating theatre was also on standby since it was never before used for a heart transplant procedure, even the custom manufactured and tested but never used electronic heart and lung machine was on standby. Louis Washkansky a 55 year old dentist who already suffered three heart attacks was lying in hospital since November (a month early) waiting for the heart, promised to him by Chris, so he was also on standby.

Suddenly it all happened, a suitable candidate appeared out of nowhere. Denise Darvall was young and healthy, she had the correct blood type, she was the correct tissue type and according to Dr Chistiaan Barnard, she was brain dead from a car accident, yet her heart was pumping. Peculiar isn't it? Declared dead with heart activity. The team allegedly even got Duvall's and her father's consent, both agreeing to the transplant,  even though neither was consulted about a transplant prior to the accident. Be that as it may, the entire team eagerly waited for her heart to stop beating and within 12 minutes they got the go ahead. Question is, did her heart stop on its own or was it medically induced?

Denise Anne Darvall and Louis Washansky

Louis Washkansky eventually did get the controversial heart promised to him by Chris. Coincidental? Even more peculiar, Denise Darvall who met the necessary medical criteria with flying colours, just happened to get knocked in a motor vehicle accident and killed hardly a kilometer from Groote Schuur Hospital itself, were everything and everyone, you guessed  it, were on standby. This just reeks of controversy -an elaborate plan made by someone for someone- worked out in detail, to the point of having Denise Anne strategically knocked down, as a means to and end. This raises the 5 million dollar question, Did one of the proudest moments in South African history just turn into one of our most shameful or is what follows in the next controversial blog even worse?

HEART TRANSPLANT

VITAL ORGAN HARVESTING

It was the year 1967, in fact more precisely it was on the 3 December of 1967 when Dr Christiaan Barnard, the world renown South African cardiac surgeon firmly placed Groote Schuur Hospital as well as the City of Cape Town on the map with the first successful human heart transplant.

However, even though this was a magnificent feat, Dr James Hardy of Mississippi Medical Center, beat Christiaan to the punch some three years earlier. Unfortunately the donor chimpanzee heart transplanted by Dr Harvy stopped beating within 90 minutes of the transplant, whilst inside the recipient's chest. The transplant was a failure and declared unsuccessful.

Organ transplants and its type of surgery wasn't at all what it was made out to be, because Barnard's patient - Louis Washkansky, died within 18 days of the heart transplant. The cause of death was blamed on double pneumonia even though Washkansky braved rejection medication and steroids. However, the heart transplant was considered a success globally, taking into account the patient survived unaided by electronic apparatus for this length of time.

The Human Heart

The name Dr Christiaan Barnard shot to world fame trailing along with it the theatre of Groote Schuur Hospital, but that wasn't the only thing it dragged behind. Suddenly there was a host of unanswered questions and issues of unethical medical behavior, prejudice, racism, deceit, lies and a cover up perhaps even murder.

Barnards medical achievement paved the way for the future for the multi million dollar human organ transplant industry that followed. This gave rise to numerous fascinating stories of young girls waking-up in a bath of blood stained ice water after a blind date only to find that she was minus one kidney. Numerous children were also found dead in fields with their liver or other vital organs missing which was subsequently blamed on Sangomas and African Witch Craft, but we all can imagine what may really have happened. Organ harvesting has become big business among unethical medical professionals since. Be assured these are not urban legends but newsworthy events. Apartheid South Africa was not the place to be if you were non-white nor just be there at that point in time, with its abundant stories of numerous persons arrested by white police never to be seen again - perhaps harvested. South Africa even had its own medical doctor called "Dr Death" during the apartheid era. Can you imagine that?

Anyway, this brings me to the controversy that snaps at me when looking at the facts of the world's first successful human heart transplant. The players are, Louis Washkansky, Denise Darvall, Hamilton Naki, Dr Chris Barnard, Dr Marius Barnard and the heart transplant team.
The question that begs to get answered is, Is there a remote possibility that Dr Chris Barnard and his team perhaps colluded to murder Denise Darvall for the sake of name and fame? Or is it all just coincidence.

Continued in my next blog...

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