Britain's Longest Surviving Heart Transplant Patient Dead

Gordon MacDonald, 66, who had a heart transplant at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, in 1980 for cardiomyopathy died on Sunday following a short illness. He was Britain's longest surviving heart transplant patient having survived for 26 years after undergoing the surgery.

His daughter, Suzanne MacPhee, was also diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and had a heart transplant last year. It is a serious disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and does not work properly.

Mr. MacDonald, who was forced to retire early because of his condition, had a led a full and productive life after the surgery and described himself as the "the luckiest man in the world". The father of two worked for a construction firm after the transplant and also resumed playing golf and cycling after the surgery.

The local Priest of Nairn, Rev Thomas Heggie, said: "He was a good family man and a man of faith. He took the gift of life and used it very well."

Source: Medindia
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