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Heart transplants became a reality in 1967, when Dr. Christaan Barnard performed the first operation in South Africa. With advanced procedures, patients began to live longer, and their quality of life improved as the transplants became more common. One surgeon at Harefield Hospital in England has performed more transplant operations than any other. Sir Magdi Yacoub, a native of Egypt, is profiled in Perspective: Heart of the Man, and his interest in the development of an artificial heart and the possibilities of genetic engineering are discussed.