March 1981 - March 9, 1981 (Monday)

March 9, 1981 (Monday)

• The first successful human heart-lung transplant was performed. A team at the Stanford University Medical Center, led by Dr. Bruce Reitz, used a new technique that retained a portion of the recipient's right atrium. The recipient was Mary Gohlke, a 45 year old woman from Mesa, Arizona, with end-stage primary pulmonary hypertension. The donor was a 15 year old boy who had died from severe head trauma two days earlier
• Dan Rather began a nearly 24 year tenure as lead anchorman for the CBS Evening News, lasting until he was pressured to retire on March 9, 2005.
• Born: Antonio Bryant, NFL wide receiver, in Miami
• Died: Max Delbrück, 74, German biophysicist, 1969 Nobel Laureate; and Steven Judy, 24, Indiana murderer, fourth person to be executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977.