Richard J. Herrick (June 15, 1931 – March 14, 1963) was the world's first recipient of a successful human organ transplant. Herrick was diagnosed with Kidney Disease and was given little time to live. He received a kidney from his identical twin brother Ronald in an operation performed by Joseph Murray, Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Merrill in 1954. At the age of 23, Herrick was informed of a Harvard Medical School professor experimenting with the idea of transplanting healthy organs into those whose organs had failed. On December 23, 1954, the procedure was done successfully, giving Richard one of Ronald's kidneys. After surgery he lived for 8 more years before dying of a heart attack at age 31.[1] [2] [3]

References

  1. ↑ "Richard J. Herrick". Find A Grave. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "A transplant makes history". The Harvard Gazette. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "Would You Sell Your Extra Kidney?" by Dylan Walsh, WIRED. January 5, 2023. Accessed March 7, 2023.


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