" Wicomb?’
‘Yes, professor?’
‘Is the heart in a good condition?’
How the hell should I know? It’s been in storage for more than sixteen
hours, the machine did not supply oxygen and nutrients for a while, and I
did not know what the heat in the storage compartment of the aeroplane
had done. Then, I thought of the stories we had heard about Barnard,
especially the one in which he was faced with a patient they could not
wean off the heart-lung machine. The world-renowned professor promptly
summonsed Jacques Losman to the theatre, ordering him to bring a
238
baboon  – talk about taking risks. Barnard was the biggest risk-taker of
them all.
‘This heart, Professor, is fit for an Olympic athlete. It’s the finest specimen
you’ll ever handle.’
Barnard stopped operating as he glanced at me. ‘Taking a chance,
Wicomb? "

― Amos Van Der Merwe , Vital Remains: Winston Wicomb, the Heart Transplant Pioneer Apartheid Could Not Stop