In 1954, the kidney was the first human organ to be transplanted successfully. Liver, heart and pancreas transplants were successfully performed by the late 1960s, while lung and intestinal organ transplant procedures were begun in the 1980s.

Who discovered transplants?

In 1954, the first ever successful transplant of any organ was done at the Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, Ma. The surgery was done by Dr. Joseph Murray, who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work. The reason for his success was due to Richard and Ronald Herrick of Maine.

Who first discovered organ transplants?

In 1933, the Soviet surgeon Yu Yu Voronoy performed the first human-to-human kidney transplant. That the kidney was not procured until 6 hours after the donor's death and that it was transplanted across a major blood group mismatch probably accounted for its prompt failure (Voronoy 1937).