The Human Fraternity Foundation Congratulates Dr. Magdi Yacoub on Winning the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity

The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity Announces Dr. Magdi Yacoub as One of the 2024 Laureates

The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity has announced that renowned Egyptian heart surgeon Dr. Magdi Yacoub is one of the three laureates for the 2024 award. The other two laureates are from Indonesia and Chile.

Sir Magdi Yacoub is considered one of the world's leading heart surgeons. He is currently Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Imperial College London's National Heart and Lung Institute and founder of the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation in Egypt, which provides free services. Through his organization, Dr. Yacoub has trained a generation of young Egyptian doctors, nurses, scientists, and technicians to the highest international standards.

Dr. Yacoub, known as the "heart saver," founded the Chain of Hope charity in the United Kingdom to treat children with correctable heart defects from war-torn developing countries. The charity has also established training and research programs to help local heart units implement the latest and best medical practices.

Dr. Yacoub has established the largest heart and lung transplant program in the world, where more than 2,500 operations have been performed. In addition, the first heart center in Ethiopia and another with a research unit in Mozambique have been opened; Dr. Yacoub is leading the development of a new heart center in Kigali, Rwanda.

Dr. Yacoub has made significant contributions to medical advances in the field of heart disease, starting a new era of heart transplantation in the UK during the 1980s and pioneering surgical techniques such as the Ross procedure, the arterial switch operation, and, more recently, the modified Mustard procedure.

His achievements have been recognized with the award of a British knighthood and numerous other honors, including the Grand Nile Collar in 2011, the highest decoration awarded by the Arab Republic of Egypt; the Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth II in 2014; and the title of "Sir" in 1991 for his distinguished medical contributions and his role in saving the lives of thousands of heart patients around the world. He also received the Order of Merit from the United Kingdom in 1992.

Father Yoannis Lahzi, President of Human Fraternity Foundation and former secretary to His Holiness Pope Francis, expressed his great pleasure and joy at the victory of Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, in appreciation of his efforts to empower medical care to save the lives of those most in need, including the weakest societal groups.