A student who carried around an artificial heart in a rucksack has died aged 24 following complications during transplant surgery.
Rebecca Henderson was given the pioneering 15lbs (7kg) device in 2017, after her own had to be removed due to cancer.
Ms Henderson, who studied at Oxford University, went on to have an operation to receive a new heart after being cancer-free for a year.
But she died on Wednesday due to complications with the risky procedure, her family and friends have said.
Rebecca Henderson was given the artificial heart after her own was removed due to cancer
Her mother Linda tweeted: ‘We’re going to miss our amazing, wonderful daughter.
‘She touched so many lives and lived her life to the fullest. She was also my best friend and I’m going to love and miss her forever.’
Dr Janina Ramirez, an Oxford academic, said on Instagram that her friend died on Wednesday.
She wrote: ‘She lived for over a year with a total artificial heart and sadly the operation that was due to give her a new one took her.
‘She was just the strongest, bravest person I’ve ever met. Think of her today. Do something brave and strong to remember her.’
Ms Henderson, from Bicester in Oxfordshire, who was finishing a masters at, is reported to have died at Harefield Hospital in London.
St Anne’s College, Oxford, where she was studied, released a statement following her death.
It said: ‘Becca completed a BA in English and Modern Languages at St Anne’s College between 2013 and 2017.
Dr Janina Ramerez, an Oxford academic, said on Instagram that her friend died on Wednesday
Ms Henderson’s mother Linda tweeted: ‘We’re going to miss our amazing, wonderful daughter’
The portable ‘organ’ pumps blood through the body while the patient waits for a transplant
‘A talented and enthusiastic student, she was accepted by the University of Oxford for an masters in English (650- 1550), also at St Anne’s.
‘During her studies she fell ill with sepsis and whilst in hospital was diagnosed with cancer of the heart.
‘She defied the odds, undergoing surgery and returning to her studies last year after receiving a total artificial heart.’
The statement said Ms Henderson was placed on the heart transplant list in January and received a new heart last month at Harefield Hospital.
It added: ‘Tragically after her surgery she suffered a series of complications that she could not recover from.
‘Becca inspired us all with her unwavering determination to pursue her studies and her contagious enthusiasm for college life.
‘She was progressing towards successfully completing her masters despite all the health challenges she was facing, whilst also embracing social opportunities within St Anne’s.
‘Her most recent cause for celebration before her operation was that she had received an offer from Oxford’s English department to undertake a DPhil.
‘She had so many hopes and plans for the future and it is hard for us to realise that she will not have the chance to fulfil them.’
Ms Henderson’s tutors added in a statement: ‘Becca’s positive outlook and her tremendous courage and determination were an inspiration to all those around her.
‘In the hospital, while recovering from her first heart surgery, she wrote her first two academic papers, both of which she was subsequently asked to publish.
‘Just hours before her heart transplant, she was working on her thesis proposal.
‘She was a true scholar and we all have something to learn from her dedication.
‘Characteristically, she was planning to write her DPhil thesis on attitudes to disability in the Middle Ages in hope of contributing towards changing attitudes towards disability.’
The battery life of Ms Henderson’s Total Artificial Heart, as it is medically known, reportedly lasted for just 2.5 hours.
The two large plastic tubes connected to the backpack enter her body through her tummy button and travel up to her chest.
They then fill two balloons inside her chest cavity with air, which work like the chambers of a real heart to push blood round her body.