the work. Hamilton never worked in the theatres. He wasn’t allowed to operate on a human being without a medical and surgical degree." Hickman said that Naki's being there was "highly unlikely." The former wife of Barnard stated that Barnard "never mentioned Naki was there the evening of the first transplant." Naki’s youngest son said that Naki was "the one who took out the heart and gave it to Chris Barnard." However, his son could not have been a witness to the operation, and was more likely to have heard the myth later. The German surgeon Stefan von Sommoggy, who worked with Naki in South Africa for a year and, unlike many of his South African white colleagues, was on friendly terms with him, denied in a letter to the editor of the renowned German medical newspaper "Ärzteblatt" in response to the documentary " Hidden Heart" that Naki's participation in the operation in any form could be ruled out for two reasons. Firstly, due to the color of his skin but also due to his lack of medical qualifications, he was not able to access the surgical area. Secondly, Naki's technical skills were quite limited. Although he was able to show students how to transplant dog hearts, his crude technique due to the lack of medical training made it impossible for him to show the much more difficult pig heart transplant. Von Sommoggy referred to Naki as a friend who, under the circumstances of his life, could not be capable of such a feat. All the more he emphasized Naki's desire to be able to do something for the education of future generations, so that they would have the basics that are needed for such specialized activities. References Further reading Pendergast S, Pendergast T. Contemporary Black biography. Volume 63. Profiles from the international Black community. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2008. . Williams M. Black scientists & inventors. Book 3. London: BIS Publications, 2007. . External links Hidden heart: the true story of the first heart transplant: Christian Barnard and Hamilton Naki. (Official site for the film.) Jonker-Bryce T. Our forgotten surgical pioneer. Daily Dispatch (South Africa) 3 August 2002. Jonker-Bryce T. Our forgotten hero honoured, at last. Daily Dispatch (South Africa) 20 June 2003. Smith D. Film on black surgeon in first heart transplant team rekindles controversy. The Guardian 1 June 2009. South African History Online. Hamilton Naki 1930–2005. 1926 births