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Who performed the first successful heart-lung transplant?
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transplant
British surgeon Andrew Ready flushing a donated kidney during a transplant at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, England, 2006.
The first successful heart-lung transplant was performed in 1981 by the American surgeon Bruce A. Reitz.2
While early techniques for this procedure were developed through animal research at Stanford Medical Center, the operation faced significant challenges regarding organ rejection until the introduction of cyclosporine as an immunosuppressant. Following this breakthrough, the procedure became a viable treatment option for patients suffering from severe lung fibrosis and right-sided heart failure.12