Pakistani-origin British cardiologist Dr Asif Hasan has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Pride of Britain Awards. He was given this honour for saving children’s lives and serving in the treatment of complex heart diseases for several decades.
70-year-old Dr Asif Hasan has recently retired. He served for a long time at Freeman Hospital in the British city of Newcastle, where he performed more than 4,000 open-heart surgeries, including approximately 3,000 operations in which he was the lead surgeon.
Dr Asif Hasan is known for his outstanding services in the fields of children’s heart surgery and heart transplantation. He played an important role in improving the treatment of children suffering from complex heart diseases and also trained several surgeons who are now serving in different countries around the world.
His professional life is not only an example of saving the lives of thousands of patients but also a message of hope for those families whose children were facing serious heart diseases.
The impact of Dr Asif Hasan’s services continues through the patients and medical professionals whose lives have been deeply affected by his expertise, training and guidance.
Dr Asif Hasan’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognises decades of dedication to saving young lives and advancing heart surgery in the United Kingdom.
His work at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle has given thousands of children a chance to live healthier lives, while his efforts to train future surgeons have extended his impact beyond the operating room.
Having performed thousands of complex procedures, he leaves behind a lasting legacy in paediatric cardiac care and heart transplantation.
The honour celebrates not only his medical achievements but also the hope he has brought to families facing some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
