Royal Brompton Hospital

Royal Brompton Hospital was established in 1841 for tuberculosis sufferers. The hospital, which at the time was on the outskirts of London, had many high-profile supporters, including members of the royal family and Charles Dickens.

In the 1940s, after it had been incorporated into the new National Health Service, the hospital began developing its expertise in heart conditions alongside its existing excellence in the treatment of lung disease.

Royal Brompton established the UK’s first adult cystic fibrosis clinic in 1964, and the hospital has grown into Europe’s largest treatment centre for the condition.

Nowadays, the hospital carries out some of the most complicated heart and lung surgery and procedures available anywhere in the world. It is the only specialist heart and lung unit in the country that treats both adults and children.

  

Harefield Hospital

Harefield Hospital was established in the First World War to treat injured Australian and New Zealander troops. At the end of the war, the owners of the estate donated land to build a new tuberculosis hospital.

In 1983, under the direction of Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, the first ever combined heart and lung transplant was performed. The following year a baby younger than one month received a heart transplant.

In 1987 Harefield was the site of the first ‘domino’ procedure. A patient with cystic fibrosis but a healthy heart underwent a heart-lung transplant with organs from a deceased donor, while a second patient received the first patient’s heart.

Today, charitable support continues to be vital to the work carried out at the hospitals. It is thanks to the generosity of our supporters that they are able to remain at the forefront of specialist research and care.