Transplantation — A Medical Miracle of the 20th Century

Abstract

Fifty years ago, on December 23, 1954, a kidney was transplanted from one healthy identical twin to his twin who was dying of renal disease. The surgery was performed at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, and John Merrill, Joseph Murray, and Hartwell Harrison1,2 led the clinical team. The operation was successful, renal function was restored in the recipient (although he would later have both his own kidneys removed in order to control hypertension), and the donor suffered no ill effects. This was the first successful transplantation, performed against a background of failure. For this reason, it created . . .