Event date

The date chosen for the global event was designed to avail of the historic opportunity of marking one of the milestones in organ donation transplantation; the world's first heart transplant by Dr. Christiaan Barnard at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town in 1967.  

This event could  present a reference point from which to reflect on achievements in organ donation/transplantation since the first ever successful organ transplant was carried out by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (now Brigham and Women's Hospital) in Boston in 1954. It could also possibly help foster a unified vision for this life gifting cause into the future.

Dr. Joseph E. Murray           Dr. Christiaan Barnard