Annually, around 3,500 open-heart surgeries are performed throughout New Zealand. For more than five decades, you could find perfusionist Tim Willcox (Sargood, 1964 -1967) in the pump room, the dedicated space for setting up the heart–lung machine, in preparation for daytime elective cardiac surgery or nighttime acutes, often with his eclectic mix of music playing in the background. Although now retired, Tim’s influence on the profession remains unmistakable.

In March 2025, Tim received a phone call from the President of the American Society of ExtraCorporeal Technology (AmSECT), informing him that he had been awarded the prestigious John H. Gibbon Jr. Award, recognising his extraordinary contributions to perfusion, the specialised practice of operating heart-lung machines during cardiac surgery. “I was so shocked I had to sit down,” he recalls. Tim was celebrated at the AMSECT Legends Lunch, held in San Diego, where colleagues reflected on his decades-long impact on patient care, research, and the profession.

His path into perfusion began almost by accident in the early 1970s. Tim admits he left St Paul’s in 1967 without a clear plan. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do after finishing school,” he says, “However, I would do it all again”. Headmaster Reg Hornsby (1963 - 1969) was a powerful influence in his life. “He set the bar high with an expectation that you would get there. I was 20, desperate for some coin, and a friend suggested I work as an orderly at Auckland Hospital. I ended up sterilising surgical instruments. My first experience inside an operating room was unforgettable. It was a below-knee amputation. They said, ‘Stand at the end of the table and hold this bag.’ That was it, my introduction to surgery.”

Reflecting on those early years, Tim offers advice to young people: “It’s not unusual to not know what you want to do; just be open to opportunities and grab them when the door opens.” 

Mentored by anaesthetists and guided by perfusion pioneers Ron Bentley and Sid Yarrow, Tim learned perfusion entirely on the job while studying part-time. “We were using Kay-Cross Disc Oxygenators, long glass tubes with 144 stainless steel discs. At the end of each operation, we’d take the whole thing apart, scrub the discs, and coat them with petroleum spirit. We would then reassemble them for the next day’s surgery - everything was reusable! Having the opportunity to work alongside Sir Brian Barratt-Boyes, a giant in cardiac surgery, in a world-renowned heart unit was remarkable. I was fizzing with excitement.”

Over the course of 54 years, Tim became the Chief Perfusionist at Auckland City Hospital, participating in thousands of cardiac operations. He contributed to research on oxygen uptake, hypothermia in babies, and patient safety initiatives like the ANZCP Perfusion Improvement Reporting Scheme (PIRS). His innovative research into emboli behaviour during cardiopulmonary bypass took him overseas, where he shared his learnings in India, China, Europe and the Pacific. “A good day at work was seeing a complex case go smoothly and knowing the patient would recover well,” he says.

Although now retired, Tim remains an honorary senior lecturer in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Auckland and continues to be active in the profession, mentoring and serving as a reviewer for international perfusion journals.

He reflects often on how far cardiac surgery has come since New Zealand’s first operation in 1958. “With new technologies, surgery is getting safer. It’s great to see the advancements being made,” he says, noting the growing influence of AI and the micro-computers now built into heart–lung machines. He continues to advocate passionately for the state registration of perfusionists. After working toward this change since 2003, he is pleased that the proposal is in the final stages of being presented to the government.

Away from the hospital, Tim has taken up new interests. He has taught himself natural beekeeping, choosing Warre hives, and he and his wife, Brigid, are studying Buddhist philosophy, a pursuit inspired by their trekking experiences in Nepal.