Poland marks 40 years since its first successful heart transplant

Poland is commemorating the 40th anniversary of its first successful heart transplant, a milestone operation performed on 5 November 1985 by pioneering surgeon Professor Zbigniew Religa and his team in the southern city of Zabrze.

On 5 November 1985, forty years ago, Poland performed its first successful heart transplant - a groundbreaking operation led by Professor Zbigniew Religa (1938–2009) that paved the way for modern cardiac medicine in the country.

Photo courtesy of the Medical University of Silesia

The breakthrough procedure paved the way for modern cardiac medicine and advanced transplantology in Poland, according to Professor Piotr Przybyłowski, head of the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases.

Since that historic operation, more than 1,000 heart transplants have been carried out at the Zabrze centre, including one on a seven-week-old infant, the youngest recipient to date.

Photo: PAP/Afa Pixx/Zenon Żyburtowicz/Tomasz Gzell

On the left, cardiac surgeon and pioneer of heart transplantation in Poland, Professor Zbigniew Religa, is photographed in 1993 holding a picture taken in 1987 by National Geographic photographer James L. Stanfield. The iconic photo shows him after performing a heart transplant at the Cardiac Surgery Clinic of the Provincial Cardiology Centre in Zabrze in 1985. On the right, a commemorative plaque dedicated to Professor Religa (1938–2009), unveiled in 2016.

To commemorate the anniversary, the Silesian Medical University has released a short film retracing the legacy of Professor Religa’s pioneering work, available on its YouTube channel.

“First there was the fear that something might go wrong, and in the end, an indescribable joy,” recalled Professor Andrzej Bochenek, a member of Professor Religa’s team, speaking on Polish Radio Katowice about the heart transplant performed 40 years ago.

The doctor noted that the recipient at the time was a 62-year-old man.  

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Source: IAR/Facebook.com/SUMwKatowicach