Event information
This medical museum occupies the original operating theatres at Groote Schuur Hospital where Professor Christiaan Barnard performed the world's first successful human heart transplant on 3 December 1967. The recipient was Louis Washkansky, a 54-year-old grocer, who received the heart of Denise Darvall, a 25-year-old bank clerk killed in a traffic accident. The museum opened on 3 December 2007, marking the 40th anniversary of the transplant.
Guided tours lasting approximately two hours provide the only access to the Charles Saint Theatre and adjoining operating rooms. Tours begin with a representation of the car accident that provided the donor heart, proceed through a recreation of the animal laboratory where Barnard perfected the transplantation technique using more than 50 dogs, and include models of Denise Darvall's bedroom and Christiaan Barnard's office. The centrepiece features wax figure recreations of the surgical team positioned in the actual theatres where the operation took place, with original equipment and faithful reconstruction of the scene. Tours conclude with a recreation of Louis Washkansky's recovery room.
The museum chronicles the timeline of events leading to the surgery and examines the ethical and religious controversies surrounding definitions of death and organ transplantation. A hallway displays letters of acclaim and criticism Barnard received, documenting the international attention and ethical backlash the surgery generated. Exhibition materials cover the lives of the donor, recipient and surgeon, plus the broader transplant team. Tour guides offer visitors assistance with organ donor registration. The museum received recognition from Lonely Planet travellers who ranked it number 67 of 918 attractions in Cape Town.
Barnard was educated at the University of Cape Town and received specialist training in cardiac surgery in the United States. The successful transplant placed South Africa and UCT on the international medical stage, though apartheid-era South Africa generated additional ethical scrutiny. Groote Schuur Hospital, founded in 1938, is located in the Old Main Building on Main Road.
Tours operate Monday to Friday at 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm, with the final tour requiring advance booking. Weekend tours accommodate groups of six or more people. Bookings are essential and should be made directly with the museum rather than through third-party websites, which have generated booking complications. Tours are recommended for ages 10 and above due to graphic medical content. The tour is not suitable for pre-school children.