On the night of January 6, 1968, @StanfordMed surgeon Norman Shumway transplanted the heart of 43-year-old Virginia White into the chest of 54-year-old Mike Kasperak. It was the first adult heart transplant to be performed in the United States. #medhistory #DonateLife 
By 1967, Shumway had already spent over a decade researching heart transplantation. In 1959, he and Richard Lower had performed the world's first successful heart transplant in a dog. Thus it was widely expected that he would be the first to perform a human heart transplant.
On Nov. 20, 1967, Shumway's team announced they were ready to attempt heart transplant in a human. However, just weeks later, on Dec. 3, Christiaan Barnard took the world, and Shumway, by surprise when he reported the world's first human heart transplant.
A mere 3 days later, on Dec. 6, Adrian Kantrowitz performed the first American heart transplant, transplanting the heart of a 2-day-old baby with anencephaly into a 2-week-old boy with tricuspid atresia. The patient died after just 7 hours.
Shumway's was the fourth human heart transplant in the world but the first to be performed on an adult in the U.S. On Jan. 5, Mike Kasperak had a massive heart attack and fell critically ill. His cardiologist, Don Harrison, offered a chance at a heart transplant. Kasperak agreed.
The same day, Virginia White suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke that left her brain-dead at nearby El Camino Hospital. On Jan. 6, Shumway called Virginia's husband, Bill, and explained that he had a sick patient needing a new heart. Virginia's family agreed to donate her heart.
That afternoon, chief resident, Edward Stinson, was sent to El Camino Hospital to transport White to OR Room 12 at Stanford. Shumway had Kasperak prepped and ready in Room 13. After a 3½ hour surgery, White's heart was defibrillated and started beating inside its new body.
News of the operation spread quickly. In fact, reporters got wind of the operation before it had even started and were eagerly waiting for Shumway when he left the OR. For the next several days, Kasperak's progress was front-page news across the country.
Kasperak regained consciousness after the operation and was able to communicate with his wife through scribbled notes. But after a few days, he developed recurrent GI bleeds and ended up undergoing three more operations to try to stop the major bleeding.
Mike Kasperak died at 1:43 AM on January 21 from continued bleeding, overwhelming sepsis, and multiple organ failure. He had lived for 14 days, 5 hours, and 3 minutes with his new heart.
Please consider registering as an organ donor. Most states let you choose what organs and tissues you wish to donate, and you can update your status at any time. Be sure to let your family know you're registered so they can support your wishes! #DonateLife organdonor.gov/register.html
