[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.

[9] On 6 August 1983 the first critical illness insurance policy was launched.

[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.