Congratulations to Professor Massimo Caputo, who has won the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Research Story of the Year for developing a children’s heart plaster. Professor Caputo and his team, have designed the first type of mesenchymal cell seeded patch to repair abnormalities to parts of the heart. The ‘plaster' has the potential to adapt and grow with the child’s heart as they get older, removing the need for repeated surgeries. At the British Heart Foundation Heart Hero Awards ceremony in London, Professor Caputo was presented with the award by BHF Ambassador Pippa Middleton and one of our Heart Heroes Calum Morris, a former patient. Calum, who was born with truncus arteriosis, received lifesaving open heart surgery from Professor Caputo when he was just ten days old. Since then, Calum has had a further four major heart surgeries – all performed by Professor Caputo and his team. Now 17, Calum and his family wanted to say thank you to their hero, adding that thanks to Professor Caputo and his incredible team, Calum has been able to achieve dreams that other boys take for granted like playing football.

Read more about the BHF Heart Hero Awards by clicking here