Almost half a century ago, the world’s first heart transplant was performed in South Africa in 1967. The following year, Australia’s first heart transplant was performed by Dr Harry Windsor at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.
According to the Heart Foundation, the procedure usually takes between three and six hours, and will be one of two types of transplant operations. An orthotopic heart transplant is the most common type (as seen above), and this involves removing the diseased heart from the body through an incision made in the middle of the chest. A donor heart is then placed inside.











































