Hamilton Naki, his life, and his role in the first heart transplant

Abstract

Hamilton Naki was a remarkable man. Despite having only a primary school-level education, he became adept in the techniques of animal liver transplantation and several other surgical procedures. For his scientific contributions, he received the Bronze Order of Mapungubwe, one of South Africa’s highest civil honours, in 2002 and an honorary Master of Medicine degree from the University of Cape Town (UCT) on 21 June 2003. Much controversy arose following his death in 2005, surrounding claims that he was involved in the first human heart transplant operation, which was performed by Christiaan Barnard in 1967.