In 1953, the first kidney transplant was performed in the United States. In 1967, the first kidney transplant in South Africa was performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard. On December 3, 1967, the first successful heart transplant was performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard, assisted by his brother and right hand man, Dr. Marius Barnard.

The first volunteer, Louis Washkansky, for the procedure was a 54 year old diabetic grocer who had incurable heart disease. The donor was Denise Darvall who died in an auto accident on December 2. Mr. Washansky had to be afraid since this was never done before on a human being but he had courage born of desperation. Dr. Christiaan Barnard, later, wrote, "For a dying man it is not a difficult decision because he knows he is at the end. If a lion chases you to the bank of a river filled with crocodiles, you will leap into the water, convinced you have a chance to swim to the other side."

Christiaan became an internationally acclaimed star of the medical field. He established the Christiaan Barnard Foundation, dedicated to helping underprivileged children throughout the world. Some people gave him the nickname, “Doctor of Hearts”.

His brother became involved with a political party opposed to Apartheid and served in parliament from 1980 to 1989.

Marius was deeply moved by a problem that he saw among patients who survived terrible illnesses. The patients survived the medical problems but ended up being crushed by the weight of financial ones. The cost of surviving critical illnesses was unbearable for many people. Stress killed patients who survived operations. Marius started a campaign to help make people financially whole and was the impetus behind the design and issuance of a new kind of insurance called, “Critical illness insurance”. The first policy was issued on October 6, 1983. This kind of insurance, though largely unknown in the US, became very popular in Europe and Canada.

In the US, death rates due to heart attacks and strokes and other critical illnesses like cancer, has declined significantly over the last 27 years. But, there is a BIG BUT.

Over 50% of bankruptcies are caused due to medical issues. How does a person replace his or her most valuable asset, his or her income? Disability insurance typically replaces a maximum of 60% of income but frequently the bills for a disabled person or a person who is recovering from an illness do not go down. Bills increase. Deductibles and copays can skyrocket. How do you pay for needed home modifications? How do you pay for your spouse to accompany you to a specialized hospital on the other side of the country and how do you pay for the hotel bills during the time that you are waiting to receive treatment?

Critical illness insurance pays a lump sum of cash to the insured person as soon as there is a diagnosis of various critical illnesses like, cancer, stroke, heart attack, etc. The check is paid immediately, even before any medical treatment is received. The money can be spent for any purpose that the insured person wants. Pay mortgage, debts, cover travel costs to get treatment that medical insurance refuses, treat yourself to a vacation away from stress.

For more information, you can reach Jules Hernadi at 610-623-9241 or email Jhernadi@aol.com.