JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
Dr. James Hardy's cutting edge surgeries have changed the course of medicine forever.
But paving his way in history by performing transplants that had never been done before was not always an easy path to be on. Back then it was considered madness by some. "Yes. Others, it was pushing the frontiers where they needed to be pushed," said Dr. Ralph Didlake.
Dr. Didlake is the director of the Center for Bioethics at UMMC.
He says while Hardy's work at times might be controversial, Dr. Hardy was actually setting ethical standards as he broached an entirely new field of surgery. "He faced all of these ethical issues without an ethical framework.
"In my looking back at the documentation, he was asking exactly the right questions and making the most of the right decisions without a framework. So I think that speaks loudly to his inherit understanding of the issues of right and wrong in pushing medical education and medical care forward."
Dr. Hardy donated all of his documentation to the Rowland Medical Library at UMMC.
It reveals his prestige among medical peers worldwide. At the same time, Connie Machado with the Rowland Library says correspondence displays Hardy beyond his professional demeanor.
"He had this relationship with these well renounced people. It's just amazing and the correspondence is personal," Machado said.
Machado says Hardy's personality reflected his professional intent. "He was looking for solutions to problems that people had. He corresponded with doctors all over the U.S. and all over the world that were doing similar types of surgeries because he wanted to try to perfect it here."
And Hardy wanted that same legacy passed on to the surgeons he trained, Dr. Didlake among them. Were medical students afraid of him? "Often," Dr. Didlake said. "No matter how hard you worked and how high you set standards for yourself, you always knew that Dr. Hardy was working harder and setting the standard higher for himself."
All elements that make Dr. James Hardy the pioneer in transplant surgery.
Copyright 2011 WLBT. All rights reserved.
WLBT 3 - Fox 40
