Series 6: Heart Transplant (HT), 1961-2004 (Bulk 1966-1969)

This series provides details on the Kantrowitz research team's experimentation with cardiac transplants in animals and human beings. It consists of surgery records, correspondence, professional and layperson inquiries, memoranda, reports, reprints, abstracts, consent forms, conference material, manuscript drafts, background research, and clippings. The series is divided into the following sub-series: Surgery Data, Administrative Files, Publications, Nancy Ross-Flanigan Files, BBC Documentary, and Michael Meyer Files. The first four sub-series are subdivided further. Materials in the first sub-series are arranged alphabetically by folder title or numerically by experiment numbers. Folders in the second, third, and fourth sub-series are arranged chronologically by date within their respective subdivisions. The final two sub-series are also arranged chronologically by folder date.

Surgery Data contains images of the infant transplantation surgery performed by Kantrowitz on December 6, 1967, as well as the raw data, handwritten notes, and ECG recordings from numerous dog and human infant trials performed by Yasunori Koga and Shigehisa Yagi. The second and third sub-series document internal developments and public discussions regarding animal and human heart transplants, such as the surgeries on the dogs Pirate and Kuru and the ethics of total heart transplants. The Nancy Ross-Flanigan Files contain the planning documents, research, and drafts kept by Ms. Flanigan to help Kantrowitz prepare "America's First Human Heart Transplant -- The Concept, the Planning, and the Furor," a 30th anniversary retrospective on the surgery. The fifth sub-series consists of correspondence regarding a BBC documentary on the history of transplant surgery, and the final sub-series is a group of writings and articles on Kantrowitz's first human heart transplant.

Portions of the series are restricted by HMD's Access to Health Information of Individuals policy (PHI).