THE world's oldest living recipient of a donor heart has died.

At the time of his heart transplant in 1991, Arthur Whitfield, then aged 67, was the oldest person to receive a donor heart.

25 years later, determined Arthur was one of oldest, if the not the eldest, heart transplant patient in the world.

The Redditch resident recently passed away, aged 92.

Daughter Elaine said: "Sadly when my mum Lynda passed away last June dad found it hard to overcome the grief.

"Broken heart syndrome took its toll, causing his previously stable heart transplant to turn into heart failure."

Back in 1991, after being told by cardiologists that there was nothing that could be done for her father, Elaine called Buckingham Palace and asked who would the Queen go to for help.

She was given the number for Dr Charles Ilsey, and Harefield Hospital.

Dr Ilsey agreed to take on the case, and performed Arthur’s successful eight hour heart transplant shortly afterwards.

Since then Arthur vowed to live each and every day to the fullest.

Paying tribute to her father Elaine said: "He was and always will be my hero. A gentle man in every sense of the word.

"We had 25 extra years of being together because of the generosity of another family who went through what I am going through now and for that I can only say thank you to everyone who is prepared to be a donor.

"Dad was loved and cherished and it is an enormous honour to be his daughter. He gave me the most wonderful life imaginable."

Part of making the most out the extra time he was given was spent fundraising - with the family once completing more than 100 fundraising events, in just one week.

Elaine said: “After the transplant we made a pledge, come what may a little part of everyday would be special not just for ourselves but for others even if it was only to give a smile to someone who looked a little sad.”

“In the years that have gone by we have given over one and a half million donor cards out. I will continue to do this as long as I can.”

She added: “This is our pledge now - to raise awareness and show people how successful transplants can be. Because it gave us a quarter of a century that we would not have had."

Arthur's funeral was held last week at Redditch Crematorium.

To mark the occasion 25 red heart-shaped balloons were released.