Magdi Yacoub

Sir Magdi Habib Yacoub FRS, FRCS (مجدى يعقوب), (born November 16, 1935), is an eminent heart surgeon. He was born in Belbis, Egypt, to a Coptic Orthodox family hailing from the southern town of Assiut. He studied at Cairo University. He taught at Chicago, and moved to Britain in 1962 where he became a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Harefield Hospital (1969-2001) and director of medical research and education (from 1992).

He was appointed professor at the National Heart and Lung Institute in 1986, and was involved in the development of the techniques of heart and heart-lung transplantation. In 1980 came his transplant operation on Derrick Morris, who was Europe's longest surviving heart transplant patient until his death in July 2005. Among celebrities whose lives Magdi Yacoub extended was the comedian, Eric Morecambe. In 2002 he was selected to spearhead a government recruitment drive for overseas doctors. He was knighted in 1992 by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Having retired from performing surgery at the age of 65, he continues to act as a high profile consultant and ambassador for the benefits of transplant surgery.

In 2006 Sir Magdi briefly came out of retirement to advise on a complicated procedure which required removing a transplant heart from a patient whose own heart had recovered. The patient's original heart had not been removed during transplant surgery nearly a decade earlier in the off chance it might recover.

In April 2007, it was reported that a British medical research team led by Sir Magdi had grown part of a human heart valve, from stem cells, a first. It is hoped that such tissue will be used eventually for transplantation in humans suffering from heart disease. The anticipated time line is within three years depending on successful animal trials.

Sir Magdi Yacoub has also had a house named after him at The Petchey Academy which opened in September.