100 000th visitor to hospital museum
THE HEART of Cape Town Museum at Groote Schuur Hospital, where the first successful heart transplant took place, received its 100 000th visitor this week. The visitor was Volkskool Primary’s head boy, Jean-Louis du Plessis.
He received a small appreciation gift pack which included books, a green coat worn by doctors and other medical-related gifts.
The milestone follows closely on the heels of an honour recently bestowed on the museum.
On October 4, the Heart of Cape Town Museum was honoured with an Experts’ Choice Award for 2016 from TripExpert, which rates hotels, restaurants and attractions around the world based on reviews from journalists and professional travel writers.
Museum manager Petrus Lotterm said on behalf of the museum he was excited to welcome the 100 000th visitor.
“I have been working here for free for many years and I really enjoy what I do. I love meeting new people.”
TripExpert’s chief content officer, Chris Blume, said their expert sources highly recommend the Heart of Cape Town Museum for its historic value as the site of the world’s first heart transplant in 1967.
The company is based in New York City.
With a TripExpert Score of 73, and with multiple endorsements from leading publications including Frommer’s, Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide and Time Out, the Heart of Cape Town Museum is currently one of the highest-rated attractions in Cape Town on TripExpert.com.
The museum comprises the operating theatres where the first human heart transplant took place.
From about midnight until 6am on December 3, 1967, a team of doctors, led by Dr Chris Barnard of the University of Cape Town, performed the historic surgery.
The museum was opened on the 40th anniversary of the operation on December 3, 2007.
During the guided tour, visitors are given the chance to learn about the research that led to this great achievement and the adulation that followed in its wake.
In a film, especially commissioned by the owners of the museum, Barnard tells of the tension, fears and excitement of that early morning operation.