Groote Schuur Hospital assumes custodianship of the Heart Museum, celebrating Heritage Day

Groote Schuur Hospital’s Facility Board has taken over the custodianship of the famous Heart of Cape Town museum, effective Tuesday, September 23, said the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness.

The hospital said in a statement that he custodianship encompasses the transfer of the full museum collection, ensuring its preservation and sustainable management into the future.

The museum celebrates the world's first-ever heart transplant performed by Professor Christiaan Barnard. In this custodianship handover, the hospital’s facility board will be responsible for updating and expanding the museum’s focus and will ensure that all patients, researchers, nurses, doctors, and allied health professionals who have made Groote Schuur a centre of excellence and medical innovation are recognised for their contributions.

The museum will include exhibits from the first heart transplant alongside other notable firsts and medical innovations that Groote Schuur has nurtured.

The statement said that while the first human heart transplant performed at Groote Schuur Hospital in 1967 remains a world-changing moment in medicine, the redevelopment will place this milestone within the broader context of the hospital’s long history of innovation and care.

It will also highlight the contributions of individuals whose roles have often been overlooked, including patients, families, and health professionals, and acknowledge that this progress took place against the backdrop of apartheid.

CEO of Groote Schuur Hospital, Dr Shaheem De Vries said the new vision is to create a space that inspires and educates future generations, showcasing Groote Schuur as a hospital of breakthroughs and humanity.

“This is not a celebration of surgical breakthrough only, but also a recognition of the resilience, sacrifice, and humanity of all those who contributed. It is a story that belongs to the people of the Western Cape and South Africa, whose courage and perseverance in the face of inequality made progress possible,” he said.

Provincial MEC for Health and Wellness, Mireille Wenger said that Groote Schuur Hospital is one of the places where South Africa’s proud tradition of medical excellence comes to life.

“Our central hospitals are not just buildings. They are places of innovation, research, and world-first breakthroughs that have changed the course of medicine,” she said.

Ms Wenger said that on Heritage Day, her department will celebrate these institutions and the generations of doctors, nurses, researchers, and patients who have made history within their walls. “They remind us that South Africa is home to world-class healthcare and scientific innovation,” she said.

“By protecting this legacy, we honour our heritage while recommitting ourselves to building a health system rooted in dignity, equity, and excellence. This is our promise: to remember history honestly, to celebrate progress, and to continue making access to healthcare a reality,” she said.