Padua Marks 40 Years Since Italy’s First heart transplant, Veterans Reunite to Honor Surgeon
WORLD NEWS – ITALY: Padua has paused to mark the 40th anniversary of the nation’s first heart transplant, a landmark operation led by Professor Vincenzo Gallucci. Medical veterans who took part in that night returned to the Museum of the History of Medicine (MUSME) to pay tribute to Gallucci and to reflect on the surgical and human dimensions of the case. The transplant itself remains the central focus of the commemoration.
Surgeon Giovanni Stellin recounted the tense decision-making that preceded the operation, recalling that a ministerial call cleared the way and that Gallucci urged the team to proceed. Stellin described the charged moment when the donor heart began to beat again, first faintly and then with growing strength, and said he concealed an emotional reaction behind his surgical mask; observers still read that emotion in his eyes today. The reunion emphasized the blend of technical skill and personal resolve that defined the original team.
Organizers announced a program of events organized around the anniversary, the first of which is an interactive exhibition opening on December 15 titled Storie di cuore e di coraggio. The show is presented as a major, public-facing initiative that will revisit the operation and its context, offering material for specialists while also being accessible to the general public and to students.
The museum event framed Professor Gallucci as both a pioneering surgeon and a prominent figure in the lives of colleagues who worked that night. Attendees spoke of remembrance and tribute, and the planned slate of exhibitions and activities aims to keep the history of that first transplant alive for professionals, enthusiasts, and future generations of learners.
