The year 1965 was a time of turmoil and change.

It was the year that saw Australia commit its first troops to the Vietnam War effort, the year that Martin Luther King shone a spotlight on civil rights, and the year that Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to walk in space.

Medically, 1965 was also a time of great leaps forward – but there was a particular operation that happened right here in South Australia which made an impact around the globe.

On 21 February 1965, 56-year-old Domenic Centofanti selflessly donated a kidney to his 33-year-old son-in-law Peter Tirimacco in a marathon double operation at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woodville South.

The landmark operation, led by surgeon Peter Knight and Renal Unit Director Professor Jim Lawrence, took most of the day and – thanks to new immunosuppression drugs to stop Peter’s body from rejecting the organ – the surgery was a success.

The operation – the first successful kidney transplant in Australia – allowed Peter to return to full-time work, with the new organ lasting 11 years before Peter recommenced dialysis for the final decade of his life.

While the transplant made history, for Peter’s family it gave them more precious years with their beloved father and husband.

For Peter’s son Enrico, the operation was the best gift he could have asked for.

"At the time of the transplant I was five and my sisters were three and one, so we don’t really remember the actual event, but what those wonderful people at the QEH gave us was 20 extra years with our father – 20 years of memories that we would not have had," he said.

"He was so proud of his family and that he could be there to watch us grow and guide us through our young life."

Enrico said that his mother, Stella, also played a crucial role in this incredible story.

"(She was) a young mother with three children under six, and not only is the man she loves facing what seemed like an experimental life and death treatment, the other most important man in her life – her father Domenic – puts his hand up to be the donor," he said.

"The strength and resolve she must have had to get through that period is amazing.

"When the transplanted kidney failed after 11 years a dialysis unit was set up in our home and Mum did the training and carried out the dialysis on Dad three times per week."

Enrico said his father was forever grateful for the work of the medical team and regularly caught up with Professor Knight and Professor Lawrence, regarding them as close friends.

"Dad would also organise fundraising functions which the local community strongly supported and raised large amounts for the Australian Kidney Foundation," he said.

"Today, Professor Toby Coates and his team continue this great work, not only saving lives but giving other families memories they may not have otherwise had."

Professor Coates, the RAH Director of Kidney and Islet Transplantation, said he was proud that Adelaide was the home of such an incredible milestone in medical history.

"At the time, other sites across Australia were also prepared and waiting to perform this landmark surgery, but it was our hospital that was given the ideal opportunity," Professor Coates said.

"It was a surgery that had never been performed in Australia before so for the kidney to last 11 years was a very good outcome for the time.

"Kidney transplants save lives, but they would not be possible without the generosity of donors and their families so I would like to thank them for making these life-changing surgeries possible."

An afternoon tea for Peter’s family and past and present health staff will be held on 22 February, to mark this historic milestone.

The event will also celebrate the profound impact of RAH transplant surgeon Dr Christine Russell who will retire at the end of the month after performing more than 1000 kidney transplants.

For more information about organ donation or to register as a donor, go to www.donatelife.gov.au (external site)