FIrst Successful Organ Transplant

"If it weren’t for the transplant, my sister and I would not be alive."

- Linda Herrick, Daughter of Richard Herrick

Linda Herrick, daughter of Richard Herrick

Email Interview

"My mother was a nurse at the hospital where my father had the transplant in December of 1954.  That is how they met. They started dating after he left the hospital, and got married in 1956. They had 2 children (my sister and I). He lived until March of 1963.  I believe that his other kidney stopped working well at that time, and that is what led to his passing. He did live for more than 8 years from his transplant to his death, which was a huge thing at that time. If it weren’t for the transplant, my sister and I would not be alive, so I am very grateful to my uncle (his twin who donated the kidney for the transplant) and all of the medical staff who were part of it all."    

"My father recovered quite quickly after the surgery, as his kidneys started working well right away. I do remember my mother saying that there was a lot of media attention at the time both before and after the transplant. Before the transplant, there were questions about the procedure being ethical, because it involved taking an organ away from a healthy person (my uncle), and because it was the first transplant, it was not known if it would have a bad effect on his health."

"I think the world of medicine was hugely impacted, because it started the beginnings of successful transplants in general, which have saved many people’s lives or at least made them longer and better. It was a real beginning, so I think of it as a frontier."