Second wind

Although the success of Barnard's operation was never in doubt, some of his colleagues pointed out the prematureness of his experiments, since there was still too little information about the rejection of transplanted tissues by the body. However, the doctor did not doubt his choice, because he prolonged the life of people.

Just a month after the first operation, on January 2, 1968, Barnard performed another, even more successful one. The recipient was Philip Bleiberg, a dentist. He lived with a new heart for over a year and a half (19 months).

Throughout his life, the South African surgeon called Vladimir Demikhov, a Soviet experimental scientist and transplant pioneer, his teacher. It was he who in 1962 for the first time in the world transplanted a heart together with lungs to a dog (and also transplanted a second head to a dog). Barnard visited him twice in the Soviet Union and even called on the eve of the first operation to consult with the scientist.

The patient woke up and was even in a good mood. However, the threat to his health did not completely pass: there was a possibility of rejection by the body of a foreign object, that is, a new heart. To avoid this, Wakshansky underwent immunosuppressive therapy, that is, he took drugs that suppressed his immune system. By an unfortunate coincidence, Louis contracted pneumonia, and the weakened body could not fight the disease. Vashkansky died 18 days after the landmark operation.