3. Important milestones in the history of organ transplantation

  • 1950 – 1954 The first successful kidney transplant. A kidney is taken from one identical brother and transplanted in another, where it worked for 8 years.

  • 1960 - 1962 The first successful cadaveric transplant used deceased donor kidney. The kidney worked for almost 2 years.

  • 1966 First successful liver transplant. The liver worked for over one year.

  • 1967 First successful heart transplant. The heart worked for 2 1/2 weeks.

  • 1980 – 1981 First successful heart-lung transplant. The organs worked for 5 years.

  • 1982 First artificial heart transplant.

  • 1983 Cyclosporine, an immunosuppressant drug, was approved by the FDA.

  • 1986 A baboon heart was transplanted into Baby Faye and worked for 20days.

  • 1989 The first successful living-related liver transplant.

  • 1990 – 1996 The first "split liver" transplant was performed where one cadaveric liver was split into several pieces to transplant into more than one person.

  • 2000 First culture of human embryonic stem cells.