Johannes Jacobus van den Heever was born in 1963 in Klerksdorp, North-West and matriculated in 1980 in Odendaalsrus. He obtained his BSc (1985), BSc Honn (1988), MMedSc cum laude (2008) and PhD in Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2020 at UFS. He also completed an Advanced Course in Tissue Banking Management in 2011 from the University of Barcelona and is currently the manager and Assistant Director of the homograft bank in the department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UFS.

Dr van den Heever is a registered Medical Biological Scientist with the HPCSA, the retrieval officer (musculoskeletal, corneas & skin) in central SA for the Centre for Tissue Engineering at Tshwane University, and national representative for heart valve banking at the SA Tissue Banking Association (SATIBA).

He is author and co-author of several articles in peer-reviewed journals and has presented his research findings at numerous local and international congresses. Tissue banking and the urge to help patients in need with replacement implants is his passion.