Christiaan Barnard - Public Life

Public Life

After his first successful heart transplant Barnard became known as the "film star surgeon". He was loved by his patients throughout the world, hundreds of whom were treated free of charge, and hated by many others who were jealous of his instant success. He was accused by some colleagues in the profession of "stealing" the idea and the opportunity to perform the first heart transplant. Often considered a spoiled and arrogant personality, he was also regarded as kind and considerate by others. Because of his widely publicised love affairs, he became jokingly known as "doctor of hearts", referring to the heart as an emotional symbol rather than in its usual medical context.

Barnard was an outspoken opponent of South Africa's laws of apartheid, and was not afraid to criticise his nation's government, although he had to temper his remarks to some extent to travel abroad. Rather than leaving his homeland, he used his fame to campaign for a change in the law. Christiaan's brother, Dr. Marius Barnard, went into politics, and was elected to the legislature on an anti-apartheid platform. Barnard later stated that the reason he never won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was probably because he was a "white South African".