Rheumatoid Arthritis Support

Barnard retired as Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Cape Town in 1983 after developing rheumatoid arthritis in his hands, which prevented him from operating. He then spent two years as the Scientist-In-Residence at the Oklahoma Transplantation Institute in the USA, and an acting consultant for other institutions.

He had by this time become very interested in anti-aging research, and his reputation suffered in 1986 when he promoted ''Glycel'', an expensive "anti-aging" skin cream, whose approval was withdrawn by the United States Food and Drug Administration soon thereafter. He also spent time as a research advisor to the Clinique la Prairie, in Switzerland, where the controversial "rejuvenation therapy" was practiced. He later expressed regret for endorsing Glycel.

Barnard divided the remainder of his years between Austria, where he established the Christiaan Barnard Foundation, dedicated to helping underprivileged children throughout the world, and his game-farm in Beaufort West, South Africa.


Adapted from the Wikipedia article Christiaan Barnard, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki