YEAR

ANTIQUITY

LOCATION

800 BC

The surgeon Susrata grafted new noses created from skin flaps.1

India

c.15 AD

Saint Peter “replaced” a young woman’s breasts, which were cut off as punishment by Roman guards (Report). 1

Jerusalem

c. 200 AD

Hua- To replaced diseased organs with healthy ones:
first reference to the concept of organ transplantation and replacement for therapeutic purposes.1

China

c. 300 AD

Report of the miracle by Saints Cosmos and Damian
(patrons or physicians & surgeons): leg of a deceased Moor was grafted onto a person whose leg was diseased. 1

Turkey

MIDDLE AGES

1200 AD

Saint Anthony of Padua reportedly “grafted” the foot of a young man who had deliberately mutilated himself. 1

Padua, Italy

Organ Year

16th to 21st CENTURY

LOCATION

Skin

16th C.

Gaspare Tagliocozzi transplanted skin from patients’ own
arms to re-create their noses.1

Italy

1746

Garengeot successfully regrafted a soldier’s nose.1

France

1822

First successful skin autograft by Berger. 

1869

Fresh allograft skin transplant by Jacques Louis
Reverdin. 2

Switzerland

1881

A medical journal reported the first temporary skin graft
from a patient who had just died. 3

1940s

Sir Peter Medawar reported using refrigerated skin as
temporary “dressing” for burns. 3

London,
England

1971

irst human skin allografts using cryopreserved human skin. 4

Organ Year

16th to 21st CENTURY

LOCATION

Bone

1668

First successful bone graft documented by Job Van
Meeneren (from dog’s skull used to repair defect in human cranium. 2

Holland

1880

First clinical bone autograft by William MacEwen. 2

Scotland

1908

Successful limb transplants between dogs by Alexis Carrel. 4

1908

Successful cadaveric knee joint transplant by Eric Lexer. 2

Cornea

1880

First reported cornea transplant. 3

1905

Edward Zirm, an Austrian ophthalmologist, restored
sight to a workman blinded by lime with a corneal transplant. 3

Austria

Kidney

1902

First successful experimental animal kidney transplant (in neck of a dog) by Emerich Ullman and Alexis Carrel. 4

1906

First human kidney transplant using animal kidney (xenograft) by Jaboulay. 4

1908

First autologous renal transplant with survival of several years by Carrell. 4

1913

Experimental kidney transplant from monkey into a young girl with nephritis due to mercury poisoning– died 60 hours after transplant.1

1933

First homologous kidney transplant from cadaver. 4

1933

First human allograft kidney transplant (Voronoy).

1954

First successful kidney transplant in the world by Joseph
Murray. Donor was the living identical twin brother of the
recipient and the kidney functioned for 8 years.

Boston, MA,
USA

Liver

1963

First human liver transplant by Starzl. 4

Denver, Colorado, USA

1967

First successful liver transplant in the world – Starzl. 4

Denver, Colorado, USA

Organ Year

16th to 21st CENTURY

LOCATION

1989

First successful living-related liver transplant

Chicago, Ill, USA

1992

First baboon to human liver transplant; Recipient lived
70 days. 2

Pittsburgh,
PA, USA

1996

First successful split-liver transplant from cadaveric
donor. 4

Hamburg,
Germany

Pancreas

1967

Richard Lillehei performed the first successful pancreas
transplant. 3

Univ. Minnesota
USA

1978

First successful pancreas transplant from a living relative
donor; functioned for 84 months. 4

Minneapolis,
Minnesota, USA

Hand 7

1964

World’s first hand transplant performed.

South America

1998

Second hand transplant but 3 years later, doctors had to
amputate the hand due to failure of patient to follow
anti-rejection treatment.

Lyons,
France

1999

First successful hand transplant. Patient doing well
and continues to improve (up to time of printing this
issue)

Louisville,
Ky, USA

2000

World’s first double hand transplant

Lyon, France

2000

World’s first arm & hand transplant on baby born with
severe arm deformity. Donor from identical twin sister who died at birth.

Malaysia

Lung

1963

First lung transplant by James Hardy. 3

Mississippi, USA

1983

First successful single lung transplant. 2

Toronto, Canada

1986

First successful double lung transplant. 6

Toronto, Canada

1990

First successful living related lung lobes transplant<>

Stanford,
California, USA

1993

First successful single lung transplant
– one from each recipient’s parents

Los Angeles,
California, USA

Organ Year

16th to 21st CENTURY

LOCATION

Heart

1967

First successful heart transplant by Christian Barnard
– the heart functioned for 18 days. 3

Cape Town,
South Africa

1982

First artificial heart transplant – functioned for112 days. 2
(Jarvik-7)

Salt Lake City,
Utah, USA

1984

First baboon to human heart transplant (Baby Faye);
Heart functioned for 20 days. 4

Loma Linda,
California, USA

1985

First artificial heart bridge – functioned 9 days. 4

Tucson, Arizona,USA

2001

First permanent artificial heart implantation in human.
(ABIOCOR)

Louisville,
Kentucky, USA

Heart & Lung

1987

First “domino” transplant – a patient with diseased
lungs but healthy heart receives a heart-lung
transplant and donates his healthy heart to a
patient needing a heart transplant. 4

Baltimore,
Maryland, USA