Richard J. Herrick (June 15, 1931 – March 14, 1963) was an American who gained worldwide recognition as the first beneficiary of a successful human

organ transplant Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ (anatomy), organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or org ...

. Herrick suffered from

kidney disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an Inflammation, inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Infla ...

. Under the direction of Joseph Murray, J. Hartwell Harrison, and John Merrill, Herrick underwent a groundbreaking surgical procedure. This operation, conducted on December 23, 1954, facilitated by the donation of a kidney from his identical

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

brother Ronald, represented a significant advancement in medical science. Following the transplant, he experienced an extension of life by eight years until succumbing to a fatal

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at the age of 31.Would You Sell Your Extra Kidney?
by Dylan Walsh, ''WIRED''. January 5, 2023. Accessed March 7, 2023.

References

1931 births 1963 deaths Kidney transplant recipients American twins {{US-med-bio-stub