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South African cardiac surgeon and inventor of critical illness insurance From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marius Stephanus Barnard (3 November 1927 – 14 November 2014) was a South African cardiac surgeon and inventor of critical illness insurance.[2][3]
Marius Barnard | |
---|---|
![]() Marius Barnard (1968) | |
Born | Marius Stephanus Barnard 3 November 1927 |
Died | 14 November 2014 87) Hermanus, South Africa | (aged
Education | University of Cape Town |
Years active | 1950–2001 |
Known for | Inventing critical illness insurance and political reforms |
Spouse | Inez[1] |
Children | 3[1] |
Relatives | Christiaan Barnard (brother) |
Medical career | |
Profession | Surgeon |
Institutions | Groote Schuur Hospital |
Sub-specialties | Cardiothoracic surgery Heart transplantation |
Barnard was a member of the team headed by his brother Christiaan Barnard that performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplantation in 1967.[4] Specifically, he was one of the surgeons who removed the heart from donor Denise Darvall at Groote Schuur Hospital.[5][6] After a 2009 documentary film Hidden Heart suggested that Hamilton Naki removed the donor heart, Barnard was quoted as describing the film as "rubbish, a joke, it’s a total distortion of the facts"[7] and as stating that Naki was at the time "in his bed, about 8 km away from Groote Schuur".[8]
Barnard was motivated by the financial hardship he saw his patients suffer after he had treated their critical illnesses to convince the South African insurance companies to introduce a new type of insurance to cover critical illnesses. Barnard argued that, as a medical doctor, he can repair a man physically, but only insurers can repair a patient's finances.[9] On 6 August 1983 the first critical illness insurance policy was launched.[10]
Barnard was a member of the South African parliament between 1980 and 1989, for the Progressive Federal Party - one of the few political parties that opposed apartheid. He later acted as a technical consultant for Scottish Widows.[4] Barnard received many awards for his contributions to medicine and humanity, and was voted in the top 25 most influential people in the field of health insurance and protection.[11]
He died on 14 November 2014 after battling with prostate cancer.[1][12]
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