THE longest-surviving heart-lung transplant patient in Britain, whose operation was carried out at Harefield Hospital, has died.

Nicola Langlands, 37, from East Sussex, was born in the 1970s with only half a heart.

She waited 13 years for the correct donor organs to be available, finally being given a new heart at the hospital in Hill End Road in 1989 by Professor Magdi Yacoub, who has since been knighted for his incredible work with transplant patients.

Her new heart allowed Nicola to lead an extended life, much of which she spent campaigning for people to become transplant donors giving talks to organisations all across the South East.

One of her final projects was hosting the Love and Laughter Show in September which raised funds for Look Beyond the Heart charity, an organisation which supports the families of transplant patients.

She leaves behind a 15-year-old daughter, Megan, her husband Neil, brothers Tom and Alex, a sister, Jessica and her parents Lynn and Jim.

The drugs Nicola had been taking to prevent her body from rejecting the new organs eventually took their toll and she died surrounded by her family at a hospital in Eastbourne on Monday, December 2.

Hundreds of tributes have been paid online by friends, family and transplant patients from across the world who have benefitted from Nicola’s campaigning.