Hamilton Naki (26 June 1926 – 29 May 2005) was a South African laboratory assistant known for his contributions to surgical research and medical training despite having no formal medical training. He worked with cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard at the University of Cape Town, where he was involved with organ transplant research on animals and trained medical students in surgical techniques. His contributions to medical science, particularly in an era of racial segregation and apartheid, have been recognized as remarkable.

Following his death, controversy arose regarding false claims in multiple obituaries, including those published by at least five periodicals and the Associated Press, that stated he participated in the world's first human-to-human heart transplantation in 1967. These statements were later retracted due to lack of evidence. The incident has been cited as an example of inadequate fact-checking in journalism, and delayed correction of reporting errors.

Early life

Naki was born to a poor family in Ngcingwane, a village in Centani in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. He received six years of education up to the age of 14, after which he moved to Cape Town.

Medical career and retirement

In 1954 Robert Goetz of the University's surgical faculty asked Naki to assist him with laboratory animals. Barnard had studied open-heart surgery techniques in the United States and was bringing those techniques to South Africa. and that Naki was "one of the great researchers of all time in the field of heart transplants".

  • Barnard: "A liver transplant is much more difficult than a heart transplant… [doctors who work with Naki] tell me that Hamilton can do all the various aspects of liver transplantation, which I can't do. So technically, he is a better surgeon than I am."

Personal life, post-retirement activities and recognition, and death

Naki was reported to be married with four sons and one daughter. He lived in a small one-room house without electricity or running water

  • The Bronze Order of Mapungubwe, 2002, presented by President Thabo Mbeki. One of the highest South African civil honours, this Order is "awarded to South African citizens for excellence and exceptional achievement."
  • BTWSC Black S/Heroes Award, 2003.
  • An honorary master's degree from the University of Cape Town in 2003, presented by Chancellor Graça Machel. The honorary degree was described as MMed (Master of Medicine) in some sources and MSc (Master of Science) in others.
  • In August 2017, the plain opposite the Christiaan Barnard Hospital in Cape Town was renamed from Salazar Plain to Hamilton Naki Square.

He died in Langa on 29 May 2005, aged 78, of "heart trouble."

  • That on 3 December 1967, Naki removed the heart of the deceased Denise Darvall, who was white, for transplantation into Louis Washkansky by Barnard.

Between 14 July 2005 and 3 September 2005, the five aforementioned periodicals and the Associated Press issued formal retractions of statements in their obituaries of Naki that claimed that he participated in the world's first human-to-human heart transplantation.

  • In an article published the same day as its correction, the New York Times concluded that reports that Naki was involved in the 1967 transplantation emerged "most prominently" in a 2003 article in The Guardian.
  • Hickman was quoted as saying that Naki "was an honest man and he wouldn't have made that claim [of being present at the 1967 transplanation]". wrote that Naki "did not at any stage assist in the first or subsequent human heart transplant operations, nor could he have done under the apartheid laws at the time".
  • "1967 Dr. Christiaan N. Barnard of South Africa performed the world's first human heart transplant operation… Working with a team that included… black South African surgeon Hamilton Naki…."
  • "One of the most interesting people I learned and read about was Hamilton Naki. He assisted Dr. Barnard with the first transplant in 1967…."

A 2007 book traced the origin of the incorrect story to a 1993 article in the Associated Press that stated "Barnard had Naki on his heart-transplant backup team. … When Barnard performed the first heart transplant in 1967, Naki was part of the backup team at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town." Marius Barnard was quoted as describing the claims in the film that Naki removed the donor heart as "rubbish, a joke, it’s a total distortion of the facts" and as stating that Naki was at the time "in his bed, about 8 km away from Groote Schuur". The co-director of the film "acknowledge[d] that Naki was not present the night of the operation."

  • Tollie Lambrechts, a member of the transplantation team, said Naki "was definitely not in the operating room on that night."
  • Dene Friedmann, a member of the transplantation team, said Naki "was not here that night, the only people here were the ones that would actually do the work. Hamilton never worked in the theatres. He wasn’t allowed to operate on a human being without a medical and surgical degree."
  • Hickman said that Naki's being there was "highly unlikely."
  • The former wife of Barnard stated that Barnard "never mentioned Naki was there the evening of the first transplant."
  • Naki’s youngest son said that Naki was "the one who took out the heart and gave it to Chris Barnard." However, his son could not have been a witness to the operation, and was more likely to have heard the myth later.

The German surgeon Stefan von Sommoggy, who worked with Naki in South Africa for a year and, unlike many of his South African white colleagues, was on friendly terms with him, denied in a letter to the editor of the renowned German medical newspaper "Ärzteblatt" in response to the documentary " Hidden Heart" that Naki's participation in the operation in any form could be ruled out for two reasons. Firstly, due to the colour of his skin but also due to his lack of medical qualifications, he was not able to access the surgical area. Secondly, Naki's technical skills were quite limited. Although he was able to show students how to transplant dog hearts, his crude technique due to the lack of medical training made it impossible for him to show the much more difficult pig heart transplant. Von Sommoggy referred to Naki as a friend who, under the circumstances of his life, could not be capable of such a feat. All the more he emphasized Naki's desire to be able to do something for the education of future generations, so that they would have the basics that are needed for such specialized activities.

See also

  • Vivien Thomas Black American heart surgeon

References

Further reading

  • Pendergast S, Pendergast T. Contemporary Black biography. Volume 63. Profiles from the international Black community. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2008. .
  • Williams M. Black scientists & inventors. Book 3. London: BIS Publications, 2007. .
  • Hidden heart: the true story of the first heart transplant: Christiaan Barnard and Hamilton Naki. (Official site for the film.)
  • Jonker-Bryce T. Our forgotten surgical pioneer. Daily Dispatch (South Africa) 3 August 2002.
  • Jonker-Bryce T. Our forgotten hero honoured, at last. Daily Dispatch (South Africa) 20 June 2003.
  • Smith D. Film on black surgeon in first heart transplant team rekindles controversy. The Guardian 1 June 2009.
  • South African History Online. Hamilton Naki 1930–2005.