Dr. Zbigniew Religa, a Polish doctor, anxiously watched a screen to check his patient's response after a heart transplant
Dr. Zbigniew Religa, a Polish doctor, anxiously watched a screen to check his patient's response after a heart transplant.
The surgery was complex and lasted 23 hours. In the photo, you can see one of his colleagues who helped him with the operation asleep in the corner.
Dr. Religa was a trailblazer for heart transplants in Poland. The surgery was seen as nearly impossible at the time, but he took the risk, and the operation was successful.
The patient, Tadeusz Żytkiewicz, lived for 30 years after the operation, outliving Dr. Religa.
The photo was taken by James Stanfield in 1987. He was documenting Poland's struggling and outdated free healthcare system, which was in crisis during the 1980s.
The 'National Geographic' chose this picture as the photo of 1987, and it was named one of the 100 most significant photos in history.

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