CHRISTIAAN BARNARD
Christiaan Neethling Barnard was born in the small, sleepy town of Beaufort West
in the Western Cape, South Africa on November 8, 1922.
His father, Adam Barnard, was a church pastor and his mother Maria played the
church organ. Chris was one of five boys. One of his brothers, Abraham, died at
the age of five from a heart disease. This may have been the reason for Chris's
future walk in life. Many years later, Chris's younger brother Marius would be
appointed as his right-hand man in the Departement of Cardiac Surgery at the
University of Cape Town.
He matriculated from the Beaufort West High School in 1940 and in 1946 completed
his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB, ChB) at the University of
Cape Town. The family was by no means rich and the young Chris Barnard had to
walk five miles to University each day. He was not an outstanding student, but
worked hard.
He served his internship at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.
He married Aletta Louw in 1948 and they had two children, Andre and Deirdre.
After his marriage he moved to the picturesque town of Ceres, in the Western
Cape, where he served as a family physician until 1951.
He returned to Cape Town in 1951 and worked at the City Hospital as the Senior
Resident Medical Officer and the Registrar, Department of Medicine at Groote
Schuur Hospital. He continued to study in the evenings and received the degree,
Master of Medicine (MMed) from the University of Cape Town in 1953. In the same
year he got his MD (Doctor of Medicine) degree from the same university for a
dissertation entitled "The treatment of tuberulous Meningitis".
After receiving these degrees, he was given a promotion to that of Registrar (resident)
in the Department of Surgery, under Professor J. Erasmus, at Groote Schuur
Hospital, in Cape Town.
In 1956 he received a Charles Adams Memorial Scholarshop and a Dazian Foundation
Bursary for a two year study in the United States of America.
Leaving his small family behind, Doctor Chris Barnard traveled to America where
he spent, according the man himself, the most fascinating time in his life. He
was trained in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis in Minnesota and received his Master of Science in Surgery in 1958,
for a thesis entitled, "The aortic valve - problems in the fabrication and
testing of a prosthetic valve". In the same year he was awarded Doctor of
Philosophy for his dissertation entitled "The aetiology of congenital intestinal
atresia".
He returned to South Africa armed with a United States public health grant for
further research into the field of cardiac surgery.
His return to South Africa was triumphant and the young doctor received
promotions and accolades. He continued to work at Groote Schuur Hospital, this
time as a specialist in cardiothoracic surgery, and was a full-time lecture and
Director of Surgical Research at the University of Cape Town.
Three years after his return to South Africa, he was appointed Head of the
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the teaching hospitals at the University
of Cape Town.
In 1962, he was promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at
the University of Cape Town.
In 1967 he led the surgical team that performed the first human-to-human heart
transplant. (The patient, Louis Washansky, died soon after.) Professor Chris
Barnard became a household name throughout the world and the unknown surgeon
became an international superstar overnight.
In 1969 he got divorced and in 1970 married Barbara Zoellner. They had two boys.
Barbara was a beautiful woman and the media adored her - her face often adorned
the front pages of fashion magazines.
His years were spent jet-setting around the world, meeting famous people - from
princes and kings to American presidents, and even the Pope. He became known as
the "filmstar surgeon". His natural good looks helped this image along, as
swarms of celebrities fought to be photographed alongside him.
People either loved him or hated him. Those who hated him might have been
suffering from a bit of jealousy, but the fact remains that although the good
doctor could be most charming at times, at other times he acted like a spoiled
prima donna who couldn't get his own way. What is not widely known is that he
treated hundreds of patients throughout the world free of charge.
He was promoted to Professor of Surgical Science in the Department of Surgery at
the University of Cape Town in 1972.
1982 saw his second marriage come to an end - Barbara, it seemed, had tired of
the jetsetting lifestyle. After their divorce, Chris Barnard wrote to the
largest national newspaper in South Africa, delcaring his love for her. However,
Barbara had had enough and they were never reconciled.
In 1983, he retired as Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He
spent two years as the Scientist-In-Residence at the Oklahoma Transplantation
Insitue at the Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City in the USA.
Over the years he has received many awards over the years, one of which is the
title Professor Emeritus (1984).
He remarried in 1988. This time to Karin Setzkorn, a beautiful model and a lady
young enough to be his granddaughter. They had two children from this union, but
were sadly divorced in the year 2000. The youthful Karin probably felt as though
she would always be known as Chris Barnard's wife and in his latter years, the
jetsetting professor was not as eager to attend parties and was content to stay
at home on his farm in Beaufort West. Karin needed to express herself, to become
her own person.
Professor Barnard is planning to settle in Austria where he plans to spend the
rest of his days in peace.
Christiaan Neethling Barnard was born in the small, sleepy town of Beaufort West
in the Western Cape, South Africa on November 8, 1922.
His father, Adam Barnard, was a church pastor and his mother Maria played the
church organ. Chris was one of five boys. One of his brothers, Abraham, died at
the age of five from a heart disease. This may have been the reason for Chris's
future walk in life. Many years later, Chris's younger brother Marius would be
appointed as his right-hand man in the Departement of Cardiac Surgery at the
University of Cape Town.
He matriculated from the Beaufort West High School in 1940 and in 1946 completed
his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB, ChB) at the University of
Cape Town. The family was by no means rich and the young Chris Barnard had to
walk five miles to University each day. He was not an outstanding student, but
worked hard.
He served his internship at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.
He married Aletta Louw in 1948 and they had two children, Andre and Deirdre.
After his marriage he moved to the picturesque town of Ceres, in the Western
Cape, where he served as a family physician until 1951.
He returned to Cape Town in 1951 and worked at the City Hospital as the Senior
Resident Medical Officer and the Registrar, Department of Medicine at Groote
Schuur Hospital. He continued to study in the evenings and received the degree,
Master of Medicine (MMed) from the University of Cape Town in 1953. In the same
year he got his MD (Doctor of Medicine) degree from the same university for a
dissertation entitled "The treatment of tuberulous Meningitis".
After receiving these degrees, he was given a promotion to that of Registrar (resident)
in the Department of Surgery, under Professor J. Erasmus, at Groote Schuur
Hospital, in Cape Town.
In 1956 he received a Charles Adams Memorial Scholarshop and a Dazian Foundation
Bursary for a two year study in the United States of America.
Leaving his small family behind, Doctor Chris Barnard traveled to America where
he spent, according the man himself, the most fascinating time in his life. He
was trained in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis in Minnesota and received his Master of Science in Surgery in 1958,
for a thesis entitled, "The aortic valve - problems in the fabrication and
testing of a prosthetic valve". In the same year he was awarded Doctor of
Philosophy for his dissertation entitled "The aetiology of congenital intestinal
atresia".
He returned to South Africa armed with a United States public health grant for
further research into the field of cardiac surgery.
His return to South Africa was triumphant and the young doctor received
promotions and accolades. He continued to work at Groote Schuur Hospital, this
time as a specialist in cardiothoracic surgery, and was a full-time lecture and
Director of Surgical Research at the University of Cape Town.
Three years after his return to South Africa, he was appointed Head of the
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the teaching hospitals at the University
of Cape Town.
In 1962, he was promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at
the University of Cape Town.
In 1967 he led the surgical team that performed the first human-to-human heart
transplant. (The patient, Louis Washansky, died soon after.) Professor Chris
Barnard became a household name throughout the world and the unknown surgeon
became an international superstar overnight.
In 1969 he got divorced and in 1970 married Barbara Zoellner. They had two boys.
Barbara was a beautiful woman and the media adored her - her face often adorned
the front pages of fashion magazines.
His years were spent jet-setting around the world, meeting famous people - from
princes and kings to American presidents, and even the Pope. He became known as
the "filmstar surgeon". His natural good looks helped this image along, as
swarms of celebrities fought to be photographed alongside him.
People either loved him or hated him. Those who hated him might have been
suffering from a bit of jealousy, but the fact remains that although the good
doctor could be most charming at times, at other times he acted like a spoiled
prima donna who couldn't get his own way. What is not widely known is that he
treated hundreds of patients throughout the world free of charge.
He was promoted to Professor of Surgical Science in the Department of Surgery at
the University of Cape Town in 1972.
1982 saw his second marriage come to an end - Barbara, it seemed, had tired of
the jetsetting lifestyle. After their divorce, Chris Barnard wrote to the
largest national newspaper in South Africa, delcaring his love for her. However,
Barbara had had enough and they were never reconciled.
In 1983, he retired as Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He
spent two years as the Scientist-In-Residence at the Oklahoma Transplantation
Insitue at the Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City in the USA.
Over the years he has received many awards over the years, one of which is the
title Professor Emeritus (1984).
He remarried in 1988. This time to Karin Setzkorn, a beautiful model and a lady
young enough to be his granddaughter. They had two children from this union, but
were sadly divorced in the year 2000. The youthful Karin probably felt as though
she would always be known as Chris Barnard's wife and in his latter years, the
jetsetting professor was not as eager to attend parties and was content to stay
at home on his farm in Beaufort West. Karin needed to express herself, to become
her own person.
Professor Barnard is planning to settle in Austria where he plans to spend the
rest of his days in peace.