A BRITISH man who was not expected to live past childhood after being born with a hole in his heart has been named the longest surviving heart-lung transplant recipient by Guinness World Records.
AFTER celebrating the 30th anniversary of his transplant, Andrew Whitby, 51, from Teddington, south-west London, has now received the certificate confirming his world record, making him the first person in history to hold the title.
He said that without his heart-lung transplant he would not be alive today, and urged more people to sign the Organ Donor Register. Whitby became only the ninth person to ever have the procedure in the UK when he had the transplant at Harefield Hospital in north-west London in February 1985. He was born with a congenital heart condition, commonly referred to as a hole in the heart, which meant his heart had to work much harder than normal to pump oxygenated blood around his body. “Looking back now, it is remarkable to think that I was one of the first people to have a heart-lung transplant,” Whitby said. “At the time I was told I had a 70 per cent chance of living for five years. I’m very lucky when you consider the people who had the same procedure before me are no longer alive. Now I feel that every day I live is a bonus. “Now I’m generally in good health. I think being active has helped me to stay healthy – I like walking and swimming and during the summer I walk the 2.5 miles (4km) to work and back.” Whitby said he was reminded of the value of organ donation when his nephew died suddenly nine years ago, three weeks before his 18th birthday. Aware of his uncle’s transplant, he had signed the Organ Donor Register and following his death some of his organs were donated to patients waiting for life-saving transplants. “His death was a tragedy but knowing he helped other people to live provided comfort. It made me feel even more grateful to my donor.”