National Transplant Week – July 7-13, 2025

History of National Transplant Week

The first credible account of organ transplantation dates back to the second century B.C., when Sushruta, an Indian surgeon used autografted skin transplantation in nose reconstruction. However, we do not know whether or not the surgery was successful. In the 16th century, the Italian surgeon Gasparo Tagliacozzi, also known as the “Father of Plastic Surgery,” was an Italian surgeon who successfully reconstructed noses and ears using skin tissues from patients’ arms in the 16th century. He was the first to propose transplant rejection centuries before scientists were aware of the concept.

In 1883, Swiss surgeon Theodor Kocher successfully performed a thyroid transplant. As a result of this, he discovered the function of the thyroid and was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1909. Thyroid transplantation became the generally accepted model for all organ transplants, including adrenal and parathyroid glands, pancreas, kidney, ovary, and testicles. Alexis Carrel, a French surgeon, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1912 for his pioneering work in artery and vein transplantation. He also identified the problem of rejection, which led to the abandonment of organ transplantation following WWI.

In the 1930s, the Ukrainian surgeon Yurii Voronoy performed the first human kidney transplant using an organ from a deceased donor. However, the donor died shortly after due to Ischemia. Years later, Joseph Murray and J. Hartwell Harrison successfully performed kidney transplantation between identical twins, as immunosuppression was not required for genetically identical individuals. In the late 1940s, Peter Medawar advanced the understanding of rejection and introduced immunosuppressive drugs, which led to the development of anti-rejection medications between the 1950s and 1970s. In 1967, the South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the first heart transplant between a deceased person and patient Louis Washkansky.

The patient died 18 days later due to pneumonia. Since the late 20th century, the success rate of organ transplantation has improved, and there has been an increased demand for more organs, particularly from living donors. Some of the breakthroughs in the 21st century include the transplantation of both arms and shoulders, neonatal organ transplant, penis transplant, and the heart transplant from a pig to a human patient.