''Pig-Heart Boy'' is a children's novel by

Malorie Blackman Oneta Malorie Blackman (born 8 February 1962) is a British writer who held the position of Children's Laureate from 2013 to 2015. She primarily writes literature and television drama for children and young adults. She has used science fiction ...

, which was first published in 1997. It shows the life of a teenage boy who undergoes a

heart transplant A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common procedure is to take a functioning heart ...

. It was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and adapted into a television series, which was broadcast by

Children's BBC BBC Children's and Education is the BBC division responsible for media content for children in the UK. Since the launch of specially dedicated television channels in 2002, the services have been marketed under two brands. CBBC (short for Chil ...

in 1999. Thirteen-year-old Cameron Kelsey has a serious heart condition and really needs a new heart. He gets the opportunity to get a new heart but it’s not a human heart, it’s a pig heart. He under goes the surgery, but it fails: the heart doesn't work, and he undergoes different surgeries.

BBC television version

In 1999, the BBC made a six-part television adaptation of the novel. Although the television adaptation was overall quite faithful to the book, some aspects were changed, including some characters' names (for example, Dr. Bryce is labelled Professor Rae in the television version), and also the fact that Cam had not been the first patient to have had a pig transplant with Dr. Bryce/Professor Rae. The series also ended with Alex being born, while the book merely ends with Cam's decision to accept the second heart transplant. The television adaptation won the BAFTA Award for Children's Drama in 2000.

References

External links

* {{Portal, Children's literature 1997 British novels 1997 children's books British children's novels BBC children's television shows 1999 British television series debuts 1999 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series Television shows based on children's books British English-language television shows Corgi books