Every Second Counts

A medical history page turner plus a review of the interwining of technology and ethics. I was a medical student when MCV's kidney transplant pioneer David Hume tragically flew his plane into the mountainside. And I was still in Richmond when Dick Lower was doing heart transplants. I laughed out loud reading the description of definition-of-death plaintiff attorney Doug Wilder as verbose and ambitious. He was both, all the way to the Governor's mansion. These details and the rightly deserved disdain of Barnard made this book alive on a personal, professional, and historical level. Well done.

I am a heart transplant survivor. I absolutely loved reading about the early days of this incredible medical miracle called organ transplants. Very well written and accessible even for those us who don't understand medical jargon.

Many of us remember the news of the first heart transplant, done, of all places, in South Africa. But only those on the inside knew that several physicians were on the brink of reaching this medical mile stone. Donald McRae describes four physicians working diligently toward the first human heart transplant. The efforts, creativity, egos and motivations of these doctors lay the background to this fascinating medical story. It reads like a medical research timeline, interwoven with facts and factoids about the major players involved. The descriptions of the doctors' various situations will surely appeal to a wide audience -- interesting to medical types as well as lay people. I was impressed by the degree of research and referencing of this book -- without giving it the flavor of an academic publication. I could not put the book down.

Great book. I worked with Dr Lower for many years and the book gives great and thorough account. of the golden age of cardiac surgery and some of the great geniuses.

Excellent history of early cardiac surgery and transplants. I was there.

Fascinating recount of remarkable events and challenges in the research and development of heart transplantation as a clinical treatment.

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK AND VERY ACCURATE ABOUT THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE FIRST HUMAN HEART TRANSPLANT TOOK PLACE. THE BOOK WAS VERY WELL RESEARCHED PRIOR TO THE WRITING BY DONALD McRAE. I THINK HE WAS VERY FAIR IN HIS APPROACH TO ALL PHASES OF THE BOOK. I WAS DR. RICHARD LOWER'S TECHNICIAN (PERFUSIONIST) FROM 1963 AT STANFORD UNTIL 1989 AT MCV IN VA. I WAS INVOLVED IN ALL HIS HEART TRANSPLANTS SO I CAN ATTEST TO THE AUTHENTICITY OF WHAT MR. McRAE WROTE ABOUT DR.'S SHUMWAY, LOWER, AND BARNARD IN THE BOOK. I BELIEVE IT TO BE THE BEST BOOK THAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THOSE EARLY DAYS OF THE HEART TRANSPLANT BUSINESS. LANIER ALLEN, RETIRED CCP & RETIRED CHIEF OF PERFUSION AT MCV HOSPITAL, RICHMOND, VA

"Every second counts" is a good story about the medical pioneers who invented heart surgery procedures and devices that are commonplace today. Most telling, is the fight that the earliest practitioners had to undergo to get the US laws that defined when death occurs changed. Until brain death rather than heart death became the law, organ donation of all kinds we hampered ... which is why a South African surgeon was able to perform the first human heart transplant. A fun and informative read.

Transplant surgery is now relatively routine. Heart transplants are carried out on young and old the world over and it's easy to forget the bravery of those involved in the pioneering surgeries of the late 50s and throughout the 1960s. I well remember the drama of the headlines when it was announced that Barnard had carried out the world's first successful human heart transplant. The progress of the first recipient was followed the world over with hope and bated breath.This account is a detailed and fascinating insight into those years before the first transplant; a medical world of personalities, ethics and technique. Be warned, it's not for the faint hearted. The detail of individual surgeries is occasionally graphic and not for the squeamish. I know that animals are used for medical research but I couldn't read all the accounts involving the way dogs were used in the name of research.That aside, I was interested to read about medical teams at different ends of the world racing to be the first. The competitiveness, bitterness, antipathy and celebrity status of those involved was a real eye opener. For the lay person, this aspect of medicine is largely unknown and in some ways, that's probably just as well! I was surprised by some of the egos and the real extent of competition. But, in context, those involved were brave, occasionally foolhardy and it's thanks to their vision and belief that some procedures are now routine.It's a well researched account with some individuals faring better than others in terms of their achievements and reputation. Donald McRae has created a real sense of pace and race in this fascinating record and I learned a great deal.

Great book! Order this before it's too late, every second counts!

I bought this book after touring the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town where the first heart transplant was conducted in 1967. I am old enough to remember the excitement when this happened. The book was recommended to me by the volunteer in the hospital. He had read many of the books dealing with Christiaan Barnard and the heart transplant. He said that this book was the most thoroughly researched. It is a compelling read. There is an enormous amount of fascinating information. After I had finished the book, I reread it right away, annotating this time. I highly recommend this book to every person who has an interest in heart transplants, transplantation in general, human biology or just science. I have bought it for many of my friends. I have been told in Cape Town that the book might be going out of print. This would be very unfortunate. At present, new copies are not available from Amazon, but there is an ample supply of excellent used copies.

Ich bin selber Kardiologin und war sofort begeistert, als ich über dieses Buch gestolpert bin. Ein wirklich interessantes Thema! Jedoch macht Herr McRae daraus eine äußerst detaillreiche Geschichte, welche sich stellenweise sehr langatmig liest. Schade eigentlich.

One of the best books I have read on the history of medicine. An engrossing and fascinating tale of passion, courage, rivalry, integrity and the difficult ethical questions that appear when working at the forefront of medicine. Knowing how many people nowadays own their life to the work of the pioneers of heart transplantation, it is inspiring to know how many difficulties and setbacks had to be faced to make it a possibility. Technical details are just at the right level for general audience and enough to convey a feeling for the underlying research without overloading the text. At the center of the book are the personalities of Barnard, Kantrowitz, Shumway and Lower and the sometime brutally and shamefully competitive world of cutting-edge science. A masterpiece of popular science literature.