Free Lessons: Written Comprehension: Magdy Yacoub, King of Hearts

Dr. Magdy Yacoub, born on the 16th of November in 1935, is considered one of the most famous Egyptians, one of the pioneers of heart transplantation at the global level and one of the most prominent surgeons in Britain, where he was awarded the title of King of Hearts. Dr. Yacoub graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University in 1957. In 1964, Dr. Yacoub began his career life in the best hospitals in Britain. In 1974, Dr. Yacoub became the first person to conduct open heart surgery in Nigeria with the help of a team of prominent surgeons.

 

Pioneer of Heart Transplant

 

In 1980 Dr. Yacoub headed the Heart Transplant Program at Harefield Hospital in London where he performed nearly two thousands of heart transplants that made Harefield Hospital the main transplant center in the UK. Dr. Yacoub has developed new techniques in the field of heart surgery to patients with heart problems at birth. Dr. Yacoub led a team of specialists who succeeded in making new parts of the heart from human cells. Since 2001, Dr. Yacoub has devoted most of his time to the “Chain of Hope” charity he founded in 1995 that cares for children suffering from heart diseases in conflict areas in the developing countries. He established a heart operations center in Aswan in 2009.

 

Aspects from His Private Life

 

Dr. Yacoub mentioned that he had dreamed of becoming a surgeon since he was a child and this was the focus of his life to the point of obsession. He said that his father was a general surgeon while he was aspiring to become a heart surgeon, and this desire was strengthened in him when his aunt, who was in her early twenties, died during her giving birth due to a heart problem. What worries him is that the society does not understand that there is a large gap between those who have and those who do not have.