Following the first successful kidney transplant in 1953, in the United States, Barnard performed the second kidney transplant in South Africa in October 1967, the first being done in Johannesburg the previous year.[3][page needed][4] Barnard experimented for several years with animal heart transplants.[1] More than 50 dogs received transplanted hearts.[1][5] With the availability of new breakthroughs introduced by several pioneers, amongst them Norman Shumway, several surgical teams were in a position to prepare for a human heart transplant.[1] Barnard had a patient willing to undergo the procedure, but as with other surgeons, he needed a suitable donor.[1][5]