News
Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award
As featured on The One Show, pioneering heart surgeon Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub has been honoured with our first ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub is one of the world’s most celebrated and influential heart surgeons. Over a remarkable seven‑decade career, he has revolutionised cardiac care - performing thousands of life‑saving operations, pioneering heart and lung transplantation in the UK, and reshaping the future of medicine for generations to come.
A lasting legacy
The 90-year-olds long list of accolades includes a Knighthood, the Order of Merit, and numerous international awards.
As well as founding the heart transplantation centre at Harefield Hospital, which went on to become one of the largest in the world, Sir Magdi served as our Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery for 20 years.
He pioneered landmark innovations in cardiac procedures such as the arterial switch operation for congenital heart defects and the Ross‑Yacoub technique. Breakthroughs which continue to change survival outcomes for patients across the globe today.
His impact extends far beyond the operating theatre. Through his charities he has led work in tissue engineering, myocardial regeneration, and global health equity. He has established cardiac programmes in countries including Egypt, Ethiopia and Jamaica, bringing world‑class care to communities who need it most.
A landmark moment at the Heart Hero Awards
During last year’s BHF Heart Hero Awards, and captured by The One Show, Sir Magdi was surprised with our first Lifetime Achievement Award - an emotional and historic moment. The award was extra special as we surprised Sir Magdi with a number of former patients who were in the audience and lead a standing ovation.
Our Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, Professor Bryan Williams, who had the honour of presenting Sir Magdi with his award said:
“This award is the British Heart Foundation’s highest honour - created to recognise a truly outstanding individual whose talent, dedication and lifelong commitment have shaped the very contours of cardiovascular science and transformed healthcare at the highest level. There are few people who embody that more completely than Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub.
“He is a household name synonymous with life‑saving cardiac surgery, but more than that, he has been a trailblazer who expanded the boundaries of what we believed was possible.
“Yet what sets Magdi apart is not only his world‑class science, but his humanity. The stories in The One Show film - from people like Mica, Howard and Bert - remind us that his impact is not written in medical textbooks, but in the lives of ordinary people who are here today because of his extraordinary skill and compassion.
“His legacy is measured in the lives he has touched, the lives he has saved, and the families who will forever be grateful. I can think of nobody more deserving, or more fitting, to be the first recipient of the British Heart Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award.”
A true Heart Hero
On accepting his award Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub said: “ “I was one of the British Heart Foundation’s very first Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Thank you very much for entrusting with this. The BHF’s groundbreaking research saves lives.
“There isn't anything more satisfying than a gift of life, which is amazing. I’m truly humbled, I tried my very best to do my job.”
'We’ve witnessed a truly heartwarming moment'
Reflecting on the evening our Chief Executive, Dr Charmaine Griffiths, said: “We witnessed something truly special as we surprised Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub with the BHF’s first Lifetime Achievement Award. Surrounded by former patients whose lives he transformed, it was a powerful celebration of hope and his extraordinary impact.
“Sir Magdi epitomises a Heart Hero. His legacy is measured in lives - tens of thousands saved and improved through world‑first procedures and over 20,000 life‑saving operations. At 90, he continues to inspire clinicians, researchers and patients alike with his world‑class science, fearless innovation and deep humanity.”