When John Mc Cafferty received a heart transplant in October 1982 at Harefield Hospital in Great Britain, doctors believed they had offered him a “bonus” of 5 years to live. The 39-year-old heavy smoker was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a heart disease in which the heart chambers are dilated to varying degrees, significantly reducing the heart’s ability to perform its “pump” function.
But fate (and his Scottish determination) decided quite otherwise. With this new heart, John Mc Cafferty has started to enjoy life to the fullest: there is no question of just gardening or fishing for trout. So he learned to swim, started running half marathons, participated in the European Heart Transplant Games, traveled around the world with his wife … “Every morning I wake up and say to myself, I can survive another day”, he said.
The previous record was 30 years, 11 months and 10 days
In 2013, more than thirty years after his transplant, he was recognized as “the longest survivor in the world after a heart transplant” by the Guinness Book of Records. He had just broken the previous record which was 30 years, 11 months and 10 days.
At the time he declared: “I want this world record to be an inspiration to all those who are waiting for a heart transplant and those who, like me, have been fortunate enough to receive a heart.”
33 years after his operation, the 73-year-old world record holder died Tuesday at Milton Keynes hospital, sepsis and a renal failure.
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