It was all about hearts and mines for Sir Terence

The man who pioneered the first successful heart transplant at Royal Papworth hospital 40 years ago could have been lost to a career as a mining engineer.

But, thanks to the generosity of Dr George Houston, Sir Terence English got a second chance to work in the field of medicine and went on to change the history of the world as well as the lives of patients.

Sir Terence performed the landmark transplant in 1979 and was the catalyst in forming the transplant unit at Royal Papworth Hospital. There had been previous heart transplant attempts in the UK in 1968 but these were not successful.