A Newcastle-born woman has become the first person in the UK to receive a new heart that has been transported in an innovative new "heartbox", which helps preserve donor organs.
Sanjana Kochhar, 29, is from Newcastle but now lives in Liverpool. At 19, she went to her GP suffering from breathlessness and palpitations, and was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. She knew she would need a heart transplant at some stage, but though she had been managing her symptoms, a decade later, things worsened dramatically.
At home in Liverpool, she started to experience severe chest pains and palpitations. She went to A&E and the decision was made to transfer her to the Freeman Hospital and place her on the "super urgent" heart transplant list.
