Victor Chang
Dr. Victor Peter Chang AC (
Chang Yam Him 張任謙;
pinyin: Zhāng Rènqiān;
21 November,
1936–
4 July,
1991) was an
Australian
heart surgeon, and one of the pioneers of modern
heart transplantation.
Born in
Shanghai to Australian-born
Chinese parents, he spent his childhood in
Hong Kong, before coming to Australia in
1953 and completing his secondary schooling at Christian Brothers High School,
Lewisham. He studied medicine at the
University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Medical Science with first class honours in
1960, and a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in
1962, then worked for two years as an intern at St. Vincent's Hospital before leaving for further training in
England. Chang apparently chose to study medicine because of his mother's death from
breast cancer when he was 12 years old.
After becoming a Fellow of both the
Royal College of Surgeons and
American College of Surgeons, he returned to St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney in
1972 to join the cardiothoracic team there, which already included top surgeons
Dr. Harry Windsor (who had performed Australia's first heart transplant in
1968) and
Dr. Mark Shanahan. The advent of
anti-rejection drugs in
1980 made heart transplants more feasible, and Chang lobbied politicians and businessmen to raise funds to establish a heart transplant program at St. Vincent's. The first transplant under the program was performed on the 14-year old
Fiona Coote on
24 February,
1984.
Between 1984 and
1990 Dr. Chang's unit performed over 197 heart transplants and 14
heart-lung transplants. The unit had a high rate of success with 90% of those receiving transplants from the unit surviving beyond the first year. In
1986, Victor Chang was awarded a Companion of the
Order of Australia for his work.
Concerned about a shortage of organ donors, he arranged financing and assembled a team of scientists and engineers from around the world to develop an artificial heart. That team, working in Singapore, Guanzhou and Sydney, also developed mechanical and tissue heart valves called the St. Vincent's Heart Valves, which were widely implanted throughout Asia. Dr. Chang and his team also made significant progress on the design of an artificial heart. Tragically, his research projects ended with his untimely death.
Chang was murdered on
4 July,
1991, following an extortion attempt on his family. He was shot twice in the head with a .32 calibre pistol in
Mosman after a heated argument with his attackers on his way to work. After a 10 day investigation, 15 police raids, and the questioning of over 30 people, Chiew Seng Liew was charged with the murder, and Jimmy Tan was charged as an accessory. The entire incident was allegedly related to issues surrounding transplant waiting lists.
On
15 February,
1994 the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, a body intended to focus on research into "the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart muscle diseases," was launched by
Prime Minister Paul Keating, funded by the Federal Government, as well as public donations (including $3 million from patron
Kerry Packer). Professor Robert M. Graham was named as the Executive Director of the Institute following an international search.
Ten years after his tragic death in
2001, Chang's daughter published the biography 'Victor Chang, A Tribute to My Father', with all proceeds from the sale of the book going to The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.
*
Australia Through Time (1999) 7
th Edition, Edited by Olds M, Random House, Sydney, ISBN 0-091-83815-0
*Achievers Against the Odds,
Victor Chang, Snippets of life
