Victor Peter Chang, AC (born
Chang Yam Him; 21 November 1936 – 4 July 1991), was a
Chinese AustralianA Chinese Australian is an Australian of Chinese heritage. In the 2006 Australian Census, 669,890 Australian residents identified themselves as having Chinese ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry....
cardiac surgeonA cardiac surgeon is a surgeon who performs cardiac surgery—operative procedures on the heart and great vessels.-Training:A cardiac surgery residency typically comprises anywhere from six to nine years of training to become a fully qualified surgeon...
and a pioneer of modern
heart transplantationHeart transplantation, or cardiac transplantation, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease. The most common procedure is to take a working heart from a recently deceased organ donor and implant it into the patient...
. Born in
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality of the People's Republic of China with province-level...
to Australian-born Chinese parents, he grew up in
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
before moving to Australia. After completing his medical studies at the
University of SydneyThe University of Sydney is the oldest university in Australia. It was established in Sydney in 1850. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance...
and working in
St Vincent's HospitalSt Vincent's Public Hospital, Sydney is located in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst. Though part of the New South Wales state public health system it remains under the auspices of the Catholic order Sisters of Charity.-History:...
, he trained in England and the United States as a surgeon before returning to Australia. In St Vincent's Hospital, he helped establish the National Cardiac Transplant Unit, the country's leading centre for heart and lung transplants.
Victor Peter Chang, AC (born
Chang Yam Him; 21 November 1936 – 4 July 1991), was a
Chinese AustralianA Chinese Australian is an Australian of Chinese heritage. In the 2006 Australian Census, 669,890 Australian residents identified themselves as having Chinese ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry....
cardiac surgeonA cardiac surgeon is a surgeon who performs cardiac surgery—operative procedures on the heart and great vessels.-Training:A cardiac surgery residency typically comprises anywhere from six to nine years of training to become a fully qualified surgeon...
and a pioneer of modern
heart transplantationHeart transplantation, or cardiac transplantation, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease. The most common procedure is to take a working heart from a recently deceased organ donor and implant it into the patient...
. Born in
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality of the People's Republic of China with province-level...
to Australian-born Chinese parents, he grew up in
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
before moving to Australia. After completing his medical studies at the
University of SydneyThe University of Sydney is the oldest university in Australia. It was established in Sydney in 1850. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance...
and working in
St Vincent's HospitalSt Vincent's Public Hospital, Sydney is located in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst. Though part of the New South Wales state public health system it remains under the auspices of the Catholic order Sisters of Charity.-History:...
, he trained in England and the United States as a surgeon before returning to Australia. In St Vincent's Hospital, he helped establish the National Cardiac Transplant Unit, the country's leading centre for heart and lung transplants. Chang's team had a high success rate in performing heart transplantations and he pioneered the development of an
artificial heart valveAn artificial heart valve is a device implanted in the heart of a patient with heart valvular disease. When one of the four heart valves malfunctions, the medical choice may be to replace the natural valve with an artificial valve. This requires open-heart surgery.Valves are integral to the normal...
.
In 1986, he was awarded Companion of the Order of Australia for his "service to international relations between Australia and China and to medical science". In 1991, Chang died after being shot in a failed
extortion'Extortion', outwresting, or exaction is a criminal offense which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly...
attempt against him. His legacy includes the creation of the
Victor Chang Cardiac Research InstituteThe Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute or VCCRI is a scientific institution based in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia. The institute opened in 1994, three years after the death of renowned heart surgeon Dr Victor Chang...
, being voted Australian of the Century at the
People's Choice Awards- 1999 :Favourite TV Star- 1999 :Favourite TV Star- 1999 :Favourite TV Star:Winner:::Lisa McCune, Blue Heelers, Seven Network:Nominated:::Colin Friels, Water Rats, Nine Network::Rebecca Gibney, Halifax f.p., Nine Network...
, and the establishment of the Victor Chang Lowy Packer Building in St Vincent's Hospital.
Education and medical training
Chang was born in
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality of the People's Republic of China with province-level...
to Australian-born Chinese parents. He grew up in
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
where he attended primary school at
Kowloon TongKowloon Tong , formerly Kau Lung Tong, is an area in Hong Kong. Within New Kowloon, it is administratively divided by Kowloon City District and Sham Shui Po District. It is an expensive low density residential district, popular among the upper class and upper middle class in the city...
and spent two years in
St. Paul's CollegeSt. Paul's College is an Anglican day school for boys in Mid Levels, Hong Kong and is located adjacent to University of Hong Kong. Established in 1851, it is the oldest secondary school there. The college has an all-boys primary school section and only becomes co-educational in the secondary...
. He moved to Australia in 1953 to complete his secondary education at
Christian Brothers' High School, LewishamChristian Brothers' High School, Lewisham , is a Roman Catholic, day school for boys, located in Lewisham, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
. In 1960, he graduated as a Bachelor of Medical Science with first class honours at the
University of SydneyThe University of Sydney is the oldest university in Australia. It was established in Sydney in 1850. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance...
and with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1962. With heart surgeon Mark Shanahan as his teacher, Chang worked for two years as an intern at
St Vincent's Hospital, SydneySt Vincent's Public Hospital, Sydney is located in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst. Though part of the New South Wales state public health system it remains under the auspices of the Catholic order Sisters of Charity.-History:...
before Shanahan sent him to England to train with London surgeon Aubrey York Mason.
Chang became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1966 and trained in
cardiothoracic surgeryCardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax . Generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
at the
Royal Brompton HospitalThe Royal Brompton Hospital, commonly known as The Brompton, is a specialist heart and lung hospital in Brompton, London. Along with Harefield Hospital it became the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in 2009 after a campaign for trust status led by actor Joanna Lumley and internally...
. In London, he met and married his wife Ann. He spent two years in the United States at the
Mayo ClinicMayo Clinic is a non-profit organization and internationally renowned group medical practice headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota. Its headquarters consist of the Mayo Medical School, the Mayo Graduate School, the Mayo College of Graduate Medical Education, and several other health science schools...
and became
chief residentResidency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree and who practices medicine under the supervision of fully licensed physicians, usually in a hospital or clinic...
. In 1972, he returned to St Vincent's Hospital, where he was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon and was appointed Fellow of the
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons- About the College :The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons is the body responsible for training and examining surgeons in New Zealand and Australia. The head office of the College is in Melbourne, Australia....
in 1973 and
Fellow of the American College of SurgeonsFellow of the American College of Surgeons, often listed as "FACS", is a post-nominal title used to indicate that the surgeon's education and training, professional qualifications, surgical competence, and ethical conduct have passed a rigorous evaluation, and have been found to be consistent with...
in 1975.
Surgical career
At St Vincent's Hospital, he worked with surgeons Dr. Harry Windsor (who had performed Australia's first heart transplant in 1968) and Dr. Mark Shanahan. The advent of
anti-rejection drugImmunosuppression involves an act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immuno-suppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions...
s in 1980 made heart transplants more feasible, and Chang lobbied politicians and businessmen to raise funds to establish a heart transplant program at St. Vincent's. The first transplant under the program was performed on the 14-year old
Fiona CooteFiona Gay Coote was born on 3 January 1970 in Manilla, New South Wales. She became the second, youngest and first female in Australia to undergo a heart transplant. The procedure was performed by notable Chinese-Australian cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr Victor Chang and was successfully carried out on...
on 24 February 1984.
Between 1984 and 1990 Dr. Chang's unit performed over 197 heart transplants and 14
heart-lung transplantA heart-lung transplant is a procedure carried out to replace both heart and lungs in a single operation. Due to a shortage of suitable donors, it is a rare procedure; only about a hundred such transplants are performed each year in the USA....
s. The unit had a high rate of success with 90% of those receiving transplants from the unit surviving beyond the first year. In 1986, Victor Chang was appointed a Companion of the
Order of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on 14 February 1975 "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"....
(AC) "In recognition of service to international relations between Australia and China and to medical science".
Concerned about a shortage of organ donors, he arranged financing and assembled a team of scientists and engineers from around the world to develop an artificial heart. That team, working in Singapore, Guangzhou and Sydney, also developed mechanical and tissue heart valves called the St. Vincent's Heart Valves, which were widely implanted throughout Asia. Dr. Chang and his team also made significant progress on the design of an artificial heart. His research projects ended with his death.
Death
On 4 July 1991, Chang was shot twice in the head in a failed
extortion'Extortion', outwresting, or exaction is a criminal offense which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly...
attempt. His body was found slumped in the gutter next to his car in Mosman. Two Malaysian men, Chiew Seng Liew and Phillip Lim Choon Tee, ran their car into Chang's vehicle, forcing him to pull over. After refusing to give them money and getting into an argument, Chiew fired the fatal shots. He was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 26 years. Lim received a minimum of 18 years and a maximum of 24 years. Chiew pleaded guilty and Lim pleaded not guilty, claiming he did not know Chiew had a gun. Another man, Stanley Ng, abandoned an extortion plan a day before the murder. He had unsuccessfully tried detaining Chang twice to force him to give AU$3 million. Ng was given immunity for his evidence. The prosecution alleged the plan had been to abduct Chang, tie him up with his family at his home in
ClontarfClontarf is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Clontarf is located 13 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.-History:...
, and threaten to hang them to coerce Chang into withdrawing money from the bank. In his ruling, Supreme Court judge John Slattery stated, "It was an absurd, improbable plan, always doomed to failure".
Legacy
On 15 February 1994, the
Victor Chang Cardiac Research InstituteThe Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute or VCCRI is a scientific institution based in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia. The institute opened in 1994, three years after the death of renowned heart surgeon Dr Victor Chang...
, a body intended to focus on researching "the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart muscle diseases", was launched by
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful political office in Australia...
Paul KeatingPaul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. He came to prominence as the reformist treasurer in the Hawke government from 1983...
with
Kerry PackerKerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC , son of Sir Frank Packer, was an Australian media tycoon whose family company owned controlling interests in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC (17 December...
as its patron. The "Dr Victor Chang Science Labs" in
Christian Brothers' High School, LewishamChristian Brothers' High School, Lewisham , is a Roman Catholic, day school for boys, located in Lewisham, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
are named after him. In 1999, Prime Minister
John HowardJohn Winston Howard, AC was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He is the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
announced Chang as Australian of the Century at the
People's Choice Awards- 1999 :Favourite TV Star- 1999 :Favourite TV Star- 1999 :Favourite TV Star:Winner:::Lisa McCune, Blue Heelers, Seven Network:Nominated:::Colin Friels, Water Rats, Nine Network::Rebecca Gibney, Halifax f.p., Nine Network...
after a decision between two Australian
larrikinsLarrikinism is the name given to the Australian folk tradition of irreverence, mockery of authority and disregard for rigid norms of propriety. Larrikinism can also be associated with self-deprecating humour.- Etymology :...
and two lifesavers. Swimmer
Dawn FraserDawn Fraser AO, MBE is an Australian champion swimmer. She is one of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times, in her case, the 100 meters freestyle....
, cricketer
Donald BradmanSir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as The Don, was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
, and ophthalmologist
Fred HollowsFrederick "Fred" Cossom Hollows, AC was an ophthalmologist who became known for his work in restoring eyesight for countless thousands of people in Australia and many other countries...
were other contenders. At
St Vincent's Hospital, SydneySt Vincent's Public Hospital, Sydney is located in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst. Though part of the New South Wales state public health system it remains under the auspices of the Catholic order Sisters of Charity.-History:...
, the Victor Chang Lowy Packer Building was established in 2008 with AU$35 million from the state government and $45 million in corporate and private donations.
Mary, Crown Princess of DenmarkMary, Crown Princess of Denmark is the wife of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark.-Early life:...
officially opened the building and declared that Chang "was an original thinker and saw the need for research and the development of heart assist devices and, not least, he is known for his legendary caring for his patients and their families".
Further reading
- Butler, Mark (1997). Victor Chang: Healer of Hearts. Reed Library - Cardigan Street. ISBN 1863915826.
- Chang, Vanessa (2001). Victor Chang: A Tribute to My Father. Pan Macmillan Australia. ISBN 0330363220.
- Stephenson, Ron (2005). Victor Chang: Murder of a Hero. New Holland. ISBN 1741103215.
External links