This is a fascinating account of the early history of human organ transplantation and the team of doctors and scientists that made it possible. It’s a truly amazing story of dedication and a willingness to take risks in spite of the many setbacks the team faced. The narrative style is chatty and informal but doesn’t dumb down the science, although the emphasis on the “love stories” became a bit cloying after a while. Well-researched, engaging and accessible, I was caught up in the drama of the whole enterprise, and learnt a lot. Highly recommended.

An absorbing account of the huge effort, intellectual, emotional and physical , that went into creating the first viable human organ transplant, Borrowing Life by Shelley Fraser Mickle is a factual account of one of the greatest breakthroughs in modern medicine, that also delves into the lives of the men responsible..
Although the surgery in question took place in 1954, the author delves further back to give us the life stories of the surgeons Joseph Murray and Francis Moore as well as Peter Medawar, the British Scientist who dedicated his research to discovering how the immune system was involved in transplant rejection, and Charles Woods, a World War II vet who suffered horrific burns when his plane crashed, and whose numerous skin grafts provided some of the first clues as to what was needed to make a transplant a viable option.
The story is an incredible one of bravery, determination, drive and at times despair, and as a reader I was fully engaged and rooting for the success of these men. As someone who lives in a world where organ transplants though relatively rare are seen as somewhat routine, thinking of a time when they seemed like science fiction and a complete improbability it seems like it should have been a lot further away than 70 years, especially considering the progress that has been made in that time on the back of the work of these men.
I liked that the author clearly did a lot of research and took time to write about the men as a whole, not just as doctors or scientists, but also as husbands and fathers, and that she ensured that the support they received from their wives was also documented. The writing is not at all technical, there is no need to be a medical expert to read or enjoy this book, and enjoy it I certainly did.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I knew close to nothing about the first organ transplant before reading this. I would have guessed a general timeline of the first transplant, but beyond that... this was all new and very interesting material! I love this kind of book because there is so much to learn and think about.

The author does an excellent job of making non-fiction read like a story. She has a wide array of 'characters'- many of the people who have influenced the timeline of events before and after the first transplant. I found myself telling my husband details within every chapter: "Hey! Did you know this?.... I have to tell you something! Woah! What about this?..."
It was fun being able to share tidbits with him and gave us something completely out of the norm to talk about. I do think that this book is written in a way that would appeal to many readers- both people that know quite a bit about the topic, as well as people who are coming into it without any idea of what they are going to read.

There were aspects of the material that were repetitive. The fact that people pre-WW2 would have considered such a medical feat to be science fiction and impossible, the characteristics of the doctors and problems that could go wrong. The author, Shelly Frasier Mickle, really did her research and was able to provide many accounts from relatives of the scientists and doctors involved. She also has a fun acknowledgement at the end of the book that talks about why she got involved with writing this book in particular.

Thank you Netgalley and Charlesbridge for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is such a wonderful and informative read- I highly recommend it!

Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought a true story about the early stages of performing kidney transplants, plastic surgery, and skin grafting would be a story that I would have a hard time putting down, would be completely enthralling, uplifting, educational and just plain awesome, well this one did. I would recommend this book to everyone and I will be telling all my friends about it.
I work in the medical field and am fully aware of the drive and determination our physicians, nurses and staff have, plus their love of what they do, but this book gives us the inside story of the physicians, sharing their childhoods, their college years, married lives, their successes and how they handled their failures. The story just got better and better as it went along, if you feel the medical terminology in the beginning of the book weighs you down, keep with it, this one is worth the wait.
Another completely enjoyable part of this book was the epilogue; I love when the author takes the time to finish up and tell us the rest of the story before they end. This one is tidied up and wrapped with a big red bow, great book!!!! I thank you Ms. Mickle for telling their story and immortalizing these great heroes!
I thank Charlesbridge and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. Well done Ms. Mickle, well done!!! High 5 stars.

Fascinating research and presentation of the history of organ transplant. Had the book only been that, I would have rated it four stars. The personal accounts of the physicians were a bit too "cutesy" for my tastes, and, in my opinion, showed the author to most likely be an unreliable narrator in some places. Still, I give Mickle a great deal of credit for the amount of research done to complete such a book, and a very educational one at that,

Transferring life from one to another

This story was most interesting. It followed many firsts in medicine and how the doctors worked tirelessly to discover the correct methods of treatment throughout the years, and how one discovery could lead to another.

There were many talented medical specialists working to solve the mysteries of the human body, how it worked, and how to heal it.

The book tells the story of the first primitive dialysis machine and how it evolved. The story of the solder that burnt most of his face off helped the doctors with skin grafts and reconstructive surgery. This work led to a discovery of why the body was rejecting the grafts. The worked to find a way to keep grafts and organs from being rejected.

Than two teams of brave and skilled surgeons took a kidney from one twin brother and transplanted it into the other twin. This being the first Organ transplant.

I recommend this book .

Thanks to Shelley Fraser Mickle, Charlesbridge Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of the book.