"Kidney transplants seem so routine now, but the first one was like Lindbergh's flight across the ocean."
- Dr. Joseph Murray, Transplant Surgeon
"Richard (left) and Ronald Herrick in 1955 after organ transplant surgery" (Associated Press)
After the transplant, doctors had an effective way of transplanting organs without the risk of rejection. The patient who received the kidney, Richard Herrick, went on to live another eight years after the operation. "Richard Herrick died in March 1963 after a recurrence of the original kidney disease in his transplanted kidney" (Bakalar).
"Kidney Surgery Hailed"
"The real break came with the development of drug immune suppression. However, we had some success both in animals and in humans with Total Body Irradiation" (Nobel Prize).
"Throughout the next few years, our team at the Brigham performed several more successful kidney transplantations on identical twins. We also began to transplant kidneys between people who were not genetically identical, using various techniques to fight tissue rejection. Although we had several successes, for eight years most of our efforts ended in failure" (Murray, "The Fight For Life").