Draft:Victor Chang Foundation

  • Comment: Still lacks independent sources about the foundation (not about Victor Chang as a person) SomeoneDreaming (talk) 01:59, 2 July 2026 (UTC)
  • Comment: Primary sources (especially but not only close ones) do not establish notability per WP:ORG.
    Also, please make sure that the sources are actually about the subject of this draft: sources covering Victor Chang the person do not contribute towards the notability of Victor Chang Foundation.
    You cannot cite Wikipedia as a source on Wikipedia. DoubleGrazing (talk) 15:55, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

The Victor Chang Foundation (VCF) is an Australian not-for-profit charitable organisation based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1984 by pioneering cardiac surgeon Dr Victor Chang AC, the Foundation provides grants to support education and innovation in cardiac surgery, with a particular focus on training surgeons from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.[1] It is legally and organisationally distinct from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute (VCCRI), a separate medical research institute established after Dr Chang's death in 1991.[2]

Background and founding

Dr Victor Chang AC (1936–1991) was a Chinese-born Australian cardiac surgeon at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, widely regarded as a pioneer of modern heart transplantation in Australia.[3] Throughout his career he was committed to sharing surgical knowledge internationally, particularly with countries in Asia. He arranged medical and nursing staff exchanges between St Vincent's and hospitals in South East Asia, was appointed honorary professor of surgery at the Chinese Academy of Medical Science in Beijing and at the Shanghai Medical School, and served as an official adviser on cardiac surgery in Indonesia and Japan. From 1982 he served on the Australia-China Council; his medical diplomacy was recognised by his appointment as a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1986.[3] He was also founder and President of the Australasian-China Medical Education and Scientific Research Foundation, which sponsored South-East Asian doctors, nurses and students to work in Australia and enabled them to return to improve patient care in their home countries.[4][5]

In 1984 Chang established the Victor Chang Foundation to formalise this commitment to cardiac surgery education and innovation.[3][6] The same year, his team performed what is regarded as Australia's first successful heart transplant, operating on 14-year-old Fiona Coote, who later became a Patron of the Foundation.[7]

Mission and activities

Surgical Fellowship Program

The Foundation's principal program is the Victor Chang Foundation Surgical Fellowship, which funds cardiac surgeons and cardiologists from the Asia-Pacific region to undertake extended clinical training at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney under leading Australian cardiac surgeons. Fellows are embedded in the cardiac unit and participate in all aspects of the program, including heart and lung transplantation, valve surgery, and mechanical circulatory support.[8][9]

The inaugural Surgical Fellowship was awarded in 2019 to Dr Wenjian Jiang, a cardiovascular surgeon from Beijing Anzhen Hospital, China, who trained for approximately 22 months under Dr Paul Jansz at St Vincent's. During his fellowship, Dr Jiang participated in over 70 heart transplantations, around 30 organ retrievals, and more than 500 other cardiothoracic procedures. Upon returning to China, he was appointed as a cardiac surgery professor and senior consultant at Beijing Anzhen Hospital.[10]

The second Surgical Fellowship was awarded to Dr Shingo Takahara, a paediatric cardiac surgeon from Japan with a PhD from Tohoku University and research experience at the University of Alberta. His fellowship at St Vincent's focused on heart transplantation and advanced cardiac surgical techniques, with the aim of advancing transplantation practices in Japan.[10]

The Foundation also offers General Grants enabling Australian cardiac surgeons or cardiologists to travel overseas for training, supporting the two-way exchange of knowledge that Dr Chang practised throughout his career.[10]

Innovation grants

The Foundation funds projects in cardiac surgery innovation, including the development of cardiothoracic devices. This reflects Dr Chang's own work developing the St Vincent's Heart Valve — a low-cost artificial heart valve designed for use in Asia and the Pacific — and the CHAD (Chang Heart Assist Device) artificial heart, which he was working on at the time of his death in 1991.[3][11]

Historical training program

Since its establishment in 1984, the Foundation has distributed over AUD$1 million in grants to train approximately 200 cardiac surgeons from across Asia.[9][11]

Governance

The Foundation is governed by a board of directors. Dr Chang's wife Ann Chang has served as a board director since the Foundation's establishment in 1984. His daughter Vanessa Chang — author of a published biography of her father[6] — joined the board in 2013 as both Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, having previously spent two decades in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors.[9] His son Marcus Chang joined the board in 2018.[12]

Patrons of the Foundation include Fiona Coote AM, Australia's youngest heart transplant recipient, who received her first transplant under Dr Chang's team at St Vincent's Hospital in April 1984 and her second in January 1986, and is today one of the world's longest-surviving heart transplant recipients.[7] Jessica Rowe AO also serves as a patron.[12]

Board members have included Dr Paul Jansz, head of the cardiac transplant unit at St Vincent's Hospital; Dr Emily Granger, a cardiothoracic surgeon who was part of the team that performed the world's first successful donated-after-circulatory-death heart transplant in July 2014; and Adjunct Professor John Kelly AM, former CEO of the Heart Foundation of Australia and former Vice President of the World Heart Federation.[12]

Legacy and recognition

Dr Chang's legacy in fostering Australia-Asia medical relations has been recognised at a national level. In October 2023, when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese opened the new Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C., Dr Chang was among the Australians honoured at the event.[13] In November 2023, Google commemorated what would have been Dr Chang's 87th birthday with a Google Doodle.[14]

Distinction from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute

The Victor Chang Foundation is a separate legal entity from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute (VCCRI). The VCCRI is a medical research institute focused on finding cures for cardiovascular disease, and was launched on 14 February 1994 by Prime Minister Paul Keating with Kerry Packer AC as patron — three years after Dr Chang's death and a decade after the Foundation was established.[14] The VCCRI itself acknowledges on its website that the two organisations are distinct entities.[2] The Foundation's mission — surgical education and international knowledge exchange — is separate from the VCCRI's laboratory research focus.

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Life and Legacy of Dr Victor Peter Chang". The Asian Executive. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  2. ^ a b "About Dr Victor Chang". Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  3. ^ a b c d Coleman, Maxwell J. (2014). "Chang, Victor Peter (1936–1991)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  4. ^ Mellor, Lise (2008). "Chang, Victor P". Faculty of Medicine Online Museum and Archive. University of Sydney. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  5. ^ Mellor, Lise (2006). "Chang, Victor P". 150 Years, 150 Firsts: The People of the Faculty of Medicine. Sydney: Sydney University Press.
  6. ^ a b Chang, Vanessa (2001). Victor Chang: A Tribute to My Father. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia. ISBN 9780330363228.
  7. ^ a b Hooton, Amanda (2026-02-21). "Two of Us: Fiona Coote and Vanessa Chang". Good Weekend. The Sydney Morning Herald.
  8. ^ "The Victor Chang Foundation". Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  9. ^ a b c Wong, Rick (2020-06-13). "Living the Legacy: Vanessa Chang, Daughter of the Late Dr Victor Chang". The Asian Executive.
  10. ^ a b c "Grants and Fellowships". Victor Chang Foundation. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  11. ^ a b "What We Do". Victor Chang Foundation. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  12. ^ a b c "About Us". Victor Chang Foundation. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  13. ^ "Dr Victor Chang honoured in Washington's Australian Embassy". Victor Chang Foundation. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  14. ^ a b "Victor Chang". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2026-05-04.

Category:Medical foundations in Australia Category:Health charities in Australia Category:Organisations based in Sydney Category:1984 establishments in Australia Category:Cardiac surgery Category:Charities based in New South Wales

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