Henry Ford Hospital's First Heart Transplant
On April 23, 1985, Henry Ford Hospital performed its first - and the Detroit area's first - heart transplant. The cardiac transplant team was led by Henry Ford Hospital's Dr. Fraser Keith and Dr. Donald J. Magilligan, Jr. The donor heart was removed at Detroit Receiving Hospital by Dr. Magilligan, who was Henry Ford Hospital's Chief Cardiac Surgeon, and transported to Henry Ford Hospital for transplantation. The transplantation operation lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes.
The recipient of heart was David Butts, a 37 year-old man from Portage, Michigan who suffered from myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle. Within days of receiving the heart, Mr. Butts was breathing on his own and his new heart was supporting his circulation. He was discharged after spending 35 days in the hospital and went on to live a number of years, married and had a son.
In the same month, the Hospital launched the Lifeshare program to promote organ donation awareness. Within five years, Henry Ford Hospital had performed 100 heart transplants with one of the nation's best survival rates.
Pictured: (Top) Heart transplant recipient David Butts (center) with nurses - from left: Chris Stapleton, Doris Littelton, Theresa Evans, Margaret VanTuyl, and Ruth Carver; c.1985. (Below) The April 25, 1985 special edition cover of Henry Ford Hospital's newsletter the Monday Monitor. From the Conrad R. Lam Collection, Henry Ford Health System.