Magdi Yacoub

He established the largest heart & lung transplant program where more than 2,500 transplant operations have been performed. He has written over 1,000 articles and co-authored several books pertaining to his work.

His colleagues believe his greatest contributions to cardiac surgery have been in the field of cardiopulmonary transplantation and in the new techniques he has developed for congenital abnormalities.

Magdi Yacoub was born on November 16, 1935 in Belbin, Ashraqya, Egypt. His father was a general surgeon and inspired him to become a doctor.

At the age of four, he witnessed the death of his aunt due to heart disease. Her death, in her early 20s, inspired him to specialize in heart surgery.

He entered the Cairo University College of Medicine at the age of 15 on a full scholarship and graduated in 1957, qualifying as a doctor.

In 1962, he moved to London and worked in leading hospitals in cardiac surgery for the next 40 years. Considered a pioneer in his field, he is hailed as one of the world's most respected cardiac surgeons.

In 1968, he took a short break to teach in the United States. He spent a year as an associate professor at the University of Chicago. He returned to London a year later to resume his work in the UK.

Upon his return to the UK, he began work as a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Harefield Hospital. He served in this capacity from 1969 –2001.

In 1986, while still working at Harefield Hospital, he became a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Royal Brompton Hospital. In the same year he was appointed as a professor of Cardiothoracic surgery at the National Heart & Lung Institute.

During his career, he supervised over 60 research students in the areas of tissue engineering, myocardial regeneration, stem cell biology, end stage heart failure, and transplant immunology.

As one of the world's leading cardiac surgeons, he pioneered techniques that include tissue engineering heart valves, novel left ventricular assist devices, and wireless sensors for heart patients. In addition, he developed a procedure for switching heart vessels of babies born with congenital heart defects.

In 2008, he established the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundaition. The foundation was able to establish the Aswan Heart Centre in 2009 to provide free medical services for those in need.

In addition to his heart foundation, he founded the Magdi Yacoub Research Network in 2008. The network helped create the Qatar Cardiovascular Research Center in collaboration with the Qatar Foundation and Hamad Medical Corporation.