longest-surviving heart transplant patient.
John McCafferty, 71, has surpassed the previous Guinness World Record
of 30 years, 11 months and 10 days set by an American man who died in
2009.
Mr McCafferty was told he had five years to live when he underwent the
life-saving operation at Harefield Hospital in Middlesex 31 years ago.
He says his record should give hope to others awaiting transplants.
Mr McCafferty, from Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire, said: "I want
this world record to be an inspiration to anyone awaiting a heart
transplant and to those who, like me, have been fortunate enough to
have had one.
"My advice is always to be hopeful, to look ahead with a positive
mind, and, of course, to follow the expert medical advice."
Mr McCafferty received his new heart on October 20, 1982 in a
procedure carried out by world-renowned surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub.
He had been diagnosed, aged 39, with dilated cardiomyopathy – one of
the most common causes of heart failure. It leads to scarring of the
heart wall and damage to the muscle, which causes the heart to become
weakened and enlarged, preventing it from pumping efficiently.
The first ever successful heart transplant operation was performed in
South Africa in 1967 by Prof Christiaan Neethling Barnard and a team
of 30 physicians at the Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town. The
patient, Louis Washkansky, survived for 18 days with the new heart.
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