Magdi Yacoub is one of the most well-known cardiac surgeons in the world. He was born in Egypt and knew from a young age that he wanted to be a doctor and help others. He studied medicine at Cairo University before moving to the United Kingdom. During his time in hospitals in the United Kingdom, he made the majority of his breakthroughs and pioneering work in the field of cardiac surgery. His contributions to tissue engineering, cardiac regeneration, and transplant immunology are well-known. He has not only been a top-rated cardiac surgeon, but has also given back to the next generation of doctors as a professor at the famed Imperial College in London. On the cardiac surgery techniques he invented, he has written over 1,000 articles and co-authored many books. He’s also started a children’s charity called ‘Chain of Hope,’ which aims to provide much-needed cardiac care to children in war-torn and impoverished countries. He enjoys spending time with his family, which includes his wife Marianne and their three grown children, while he is not practicing medicine.
Childhood and Adolescence
Magdi Yacoub was born in Belbin, Ashraqya, Egypt, on November 16, 1935. His father was a general surgeon who encouraged him to pursue a career in medicine.
He witnessed his aunt’s death from heart disease when he was four years old. Her demise in her early twenties encouraged him to pursue a career in cardiothoracic surgery.
He enrolled on a full scholarship at Cairo University College of Medicine at the age of 15 and graduated in 1957, qualifying as a doctor.
Career of Magdi Yacoub
He relocated to London in 1962 and spent the following 40 years working in renowned heart surgery hospitals. He is regarded as a pioneer in his area and one of the world’s most renowned cardiac surgeons.
He took a vacation in 1968 to teach in the United States. He was an associate professor at the University of Chicago for a year. A year later, he returned to London to restart his employment in the United Kingdom.
When he returned to the UK, he started working at Harefield Hospital as a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon. He was in this position from 1969 to 2001.
He became a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Royal Brompton Hospital in 1986, while still working at Harefield Hospital. He was named a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the National Heart and Lung Institute the same year.
In the areas of tissue engineering, cardiac regeneration, stem cell biology, end-stage heart failure, and transplant immunology, he mentored approximately 60 research students during his career.
He started the UK-based children’s charity ‘Chain of Hope’ in 1995, which treats children from war-torn and underdeveloped nations who have correctable heart abnormalities. In Egypt and other Middle Eastern nations, Chain of Hope has created training and research programs.
Magdi left his job as a doctor in London-area hospitals in 2001 and now spends his time recruiting doctors for the UK’s National Health Services from all over the world. He’s also given a lot of time to his charity, Chain of Hope.
Major Projects of Magdi Yacoub
He pioneered techniques such as tissue engineering heart valves, innovative left ventricular support devices, and wireless sensors for heart patients as one of the world’s leading cardiac surgeons. He also devised a method for changing the heart vessels of babies born with congenital heart abnormalities.
He founded the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation in 2008. In 2009, the organization was able to open the Aswan Heart Centre, which offers free medical treatments to individuals in need.
He launched the Magdi Yacoub Research Network in 2008, in addition to his cardiac charity. In conjunction with the Qatar Foundation and Hamad Medical Corporation, the network assisted in the establishment of the Qatar Cardiovascular Research Center.
Achievements & Awards
In 1992, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Dr. Yacoub for his contributions to medicine and surgery.
For his pioneering approaches and accomplishments, he was granted the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 1998. In the same year, he received the Ray C. Fish Award for Scientific Achievement in Cardiovascular Disease from the Texas Heart Institute.
In 1999, the Royal Society bestowed upon him a second Fellowship Award. In 1999, the UK Secretary of State honored him with the Lifetime Outstanding Achievement Award for his contributions to medicine.
Other honors include the World Health Organization’s Prize for Humanitarian Services (Geneva), the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences’ Medal of Merit, and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Personal History and Legacy
Magdi is married to Marianne, a German-born woman. They are the parents of three children. Lisa, his oldest daughter, is the UK coordinator for Chain of Hope, while his youngest daughter is a tropical medicine specialist.
He founded the world’s largest heart and lung transplant program, which has conducted over 2,500 transplants. He has over 1,000 articles to his credit and has co-authored many books on the subject.
His peers consider that his major contributions to cardiac surgery have been in the fields of cardiopulmonary transplantation and innovative procedures for congenital defects that he has created.
Estimated Net Worth
Magdi is one of the wealthiest doctors and one of the most popular. Magdi Yacoub’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.
Trivia
He performed Nigeria’s first open heart surgery in 1974.
He performed a heart transplant on Derrick Morris in 1980, and he went on to become the longest-surviving heart transplant patient. He lived for another 25 years after his surgery.
He enjoys growing orchids and listening to Bach in his spare time.