Surgeon (b 1922; q Cape Town 1946), d 2 September 2001.

On 3 December 1967 Christiaan Barnard completed the first human to human heart transplant and earned a place in history. That operation ranks with the assassination of John F Kennedy and the first moon landing as among the best remembered events of my generation. Barnard's death, from a suspected heart attack while on holiday in Cyprus, ended an illustrious and colourful life, and a highly controversial career.

That first heart transplant brought together two burgeoning areas of surgical endeavour. Kidney transplantation had started in the mid 1950s at about the same time as the use of the pump oxygenator for open heart surgery, which by the mid 1960s had become routine. Heart transplantation had been studied in the animal laboratory for 10 years and a few patients had received apes' hearts, to no avail. Kidneys could be taken from clinically dead donors, but to transplant the human heart required the ethical leap of declaring a patient dead while the heart was still working. The concept of “brain dead” had yet to be defined. Barnard's detractors argue that he jumped the gun and took the place in history that others should have had. But once Barnard broke the medicolegal impasse, surgeons all over the world joined the bandwagon and within a year over 100 heart transplants were performed. Few patients survived more than a fortnight. By the end of 1968 enthusiasm waned to be followed by what amounted to a worldwide moratorium for about 10 years.

During this flurry of transplant activity the surgeons, hospitals, and the patients and their families were surrounded by a media circus, which many found deeply distasteful and regrettable. Barnard, however, thrived on it, handling the press and television with panache. An outspoken advocate of euthanasia, he later ventured into political issues, and was publicly against racial segregation. His own ward had been racially mixed for years. Instant worldwide fame gave him the opportunity to join the international jet set, which he did without hesitation. Soon he acquired a reputation as a playboy and was often seen in the company of famous and beautiful women, models, and actresses, and was notoriously indiscrete about his exploits. His marriage did not survive it and he remarried twice, to women 20 and then 40 years younger than himself.

There was no silver spoon in the infant Barnard's mouth. Born into the family of a pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church, his childhood story is of relative poverty, maternal ambition, and competitiveness. He did various part time jobs to help fund himself through medical school, and after house appointments worked as a family physician for a few years. He returned to hospital work and, after taking higher degrees and training in surgery, in 1956 he was awarded a two year bursary and went to C Walton Lillehei's department in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He returned to Cape Town in 1958 having added a PhD, research awards, and bursaries to his curriculum vitae.

Chris Barnard became head of cardiothoracic surgery in Cape Town in 1961 before he was 40 and until 1983 led a team that achieved excellent results and made original contributions in congenital heart disease, valve surgery, and further developments in cardiac transplantation. He was an intensely competitive but charismatic man who wanted to succeed and did, and enjoyed being an international celebrity both in and out of medicine.

Assistant professor of medicine Garyounis University, Benghazi, Libya, 1979-82 (b Benghazi 1934; q Cairo 1965; MRCP, DTM&H, DTCD), died from prostate cancer on 3 April 2001. He worked in Benghazi from 1968 to 1982, with time spent working as a senior house officer in the United Kingdom while he studied for postgraduate qualifications. He was much involved in medical student teaching in the newly formed medical school in Benghazi. In 1982 he became a clinical fellow in rheumatology at McMaster University, Canada. He returned to England in 1984, working as a registrar in rheumatology at the Middlesex Hospital and Manchester Royal Infirmary. He changed career to general practice and worked in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. Outside medicine his main interest was his family, but he also enjoyed politics, travel, gardening, chess, and watching sports, especially Italian football and golf. He enjoyed listening to jazz and blues music—John Lee Hooker was one of his favourite artists. Abdulla was proud of his Arabic roots and culture, and especially enjoyed Libyan home cooking. He leaves a wife, Annette; and three sons.

by Annette Bugaighis

Professor of gastroenterology (b 1948; q Liverpool 1972; BSc, MD, FRCP), died from a brain tumour on 9 July 2001. John's undergraduate career was brilliant and socially hilarious. His election as president of the Liverpool Medical Students Society followed a triumphant series of performances in the Christmas shows. He was a lecturer in medicine at St Mary's, Paddington, before being appointed to the Hammersmith in 1983, receiving a personal chair in 1997. John researched the pathogenesis of gastric and duodenal ulcer disease. His major contribution was to provide a rational explanation for the relationship between helicobacter infection of the stomach and acid related duodenal ulceration. He surmised that the stomach responded as if it has just been fed, and inappropriately turned on the complex endocrine pathways that lead to acid secretion. This hypothesis, now amply supported by evidence, has entered the textbooks as the “gastrin link.” Although a deeply serious scientist and physician, John had an irrepressible sense of humour, and huge enthusiasm for friendship and fun. He loved to grapple with complex intellectual problems, but it was rarely long before a beaming smile appeared. He leaves a wife, Joyce; and three children.

by Ian Calder and Humphrey Hodgson

Former consultant psychiatrist and director of psychiatry Dandenong Hospital, Victoria, Australia (b Salford 1932; q Manchester 1956; FRA&NZCPsych), died on 12 July 2001. While still a student, Terry diagnosed his own mitral valvular disease. It finally caught up with him when a pacemaker had to be inserted in 2000. In February 2001 he underwent mitral valve replacement. Terminal septicaemia, from which he never recovered, developed shortly before his death. In 1995 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which appeared to have resolved with radiotherapy. Terry and his wife, Kath, emigrated to Australia in 1963, where he worked as a singlehanded general practitioner. In 1974 they moved to near Melbourne where he retrained as a psychiatrist, becoming a consultant in 1978. He pioneered home treatment for patients with severe mental illness and thought nothing of helping them with their housework while conducting expert psychiatric assessment. Terry and Kath preferred to live in the style of “the Good Life” on their 94 acre farm, taking great pleasure in seeing things grow. Apart from rearing cattle for beef, they also developed a large vineyard selling their wines under the label of “Cannibal Creek.” He leaves Kath; five children; and six grandchildren.

by I W Manson

Clinical specialist in oncology ICI (b Hazel Grove, Stockport 1946; q Queen's University, Belfast, 1971), died from prostate cancer on 26 June 2001. He trained as a general practitioner before moving to industry in 1979. Between then and 1984 he was medical adviser to Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceutical Divisions. He moved across as senior medical adviser to the ICI Pharmaceutical Division in Macclesfield, where he was rapidly promoted to clinical specialist in oncology, supporting the development of endocrine treatments for breast cancer. Much of the success for the development of tamoxifen, goserilin, and anastrozole in the treatment of early or metastatic breast cancer can be attributed to Ian's ceaseless energy and zeal. He was elected a fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine in 1995. The disease that cut short his life was a virulent form of prostate cancer resistant to the drug goserilin that he had helped pioneer. Ian loved music, and in particular the work of Jethro Tull and Bob Dylan. He leaves a wife, Annette; and two daughters.

by Michael Baum

General practitioner Erith, south London, 1962-94 (b Rhydycwmerau 1924; q Guy's 1952; DPH), died suddenly on 24 April 2001. Gwyn was a keen rugby player until he contracted tuberculosis working on the wards. Plans after qualifying to return to Wales were prevented by the shortage of jobs nationally, and he took his young family, much to their delight, round England for a series of locum posts. He worked as a medical officer in industry before becoming a partner in a practice in south London. He retired to East Sussex, but a bit of him longed to return to the Wales of his youth. He leaves a wife, Evelyn; two children; and five grandchildren.

by Shôn Lewis

General practitioner Dublin (b Trim, Co Meath, Ireland, 1964; q Trinity College, Dublin, 1987; DRCOG, MRCGP), died on 27 June 2001 after a collision with a lorry while she was cycling in Dublin. After preregistration in Dublin, she moved to Manchester and then York to train for general practice. A spell in laboratory medicine gave her special insight into the diseases she treated. She gained further experience working in Australia, a year that she particularly loved. Five years ago, Libby returned to her beloved Ireland, choosing a practice that looked after some of the most deprived areas in Dublin. She loved hill walking, the arts, film, and entertaining. She leaves her mother; three brothers; and two sisters.

by A Shetty and A-M O'Neill

Consultant paediatrician South Manchester University Hospitals 1975-2001 (b Wolverhampton 1940; q Royal Free, London, 1964; MD, FRCP, DCH, FRCPCH), died from colorectal cancer on 5 May 2001. He contributed greatly to the advancement of paediatrics in northwest England. He trained in Jamaica and at Toronto Hospital for Sick Children before Great Ormond Street, becoming a paediatrician with substantial interests in child abuse, rheumatology, and play therapy. He examined for the diploma in child health, becoming chairman of the examining board in 1993. From 1995 to 1998, he was Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health regional adviser, burdened with introducing Calman reforms to both trainers and trainees, succeeding in this difficult enterprise through his effective mix of lucidity, assertiveness, and humour. Anthony was a talented musician at piano and guitar, recently composing a guitar concerto, which is to be recorded. He continued to work until weeks before his death. He leaves a wife, Mary; and three children.

by Garry Hambleton

General practitioner London (b 1939; q London 1966; MRCS, MCFP Canada), died from pancreatic cancer on 24 June 2001. Before going into medicine he studied as an actuary. He moved to New Brunswick in Canada in 1976 where he practised as a general practitioner. He was the sole doctor for several hundred square miles and experienced all forms of medicine in the raw. He moved back to England in 1981 and set up a singlehanded practice near London's Sloane Square. Mark was fascinated by anything that went fast, from motorcycles and cars to aeroplanes and latterly helicopters, attaining both a private pilot's licence and a helicopter licence. He later became an authorised medical examiner for the Civil Aviation Authority in New Zealand, where he had spent many extended holidays since meeting his second wife, Christine, a New Zealander, in 1985. He leaves Christine; and two children.

by David Darby