Ex-rugby player Rhys Thomas holds his own heart after transplant operation

This story contains an image some people might find distressing A former Wales rugby international described the "crazy" and "very special" moment he held his own heart after a life-saving transplant. Rhys Thomas, 43, had suffered heart problems since experiencing a minor heart attack after playing for Dragons RFC in 2006. A second, more serious attack in 2012 led to him receiving a battery-powered left ventricular assist device (LVAD). After spending almost a decade on the UK transplant list as his health worsened, Thomas moved back to his hometown of Cape Town, South Africa, in 2024, saying the system "wasn't working" for him. Just 18 months later, he was offered three donor hearts in a single day in April, with doctors revealing after the surgery that without it, he might only have had two weeks left to live. "It was quite a process in the last months, actually, for me to make peace with death because the call wasn't coming and my health was deteriorating," Thomas said. "I was filled, at moments, with fear - fear of dying, what I was leaving behind, my children, my partner, my friends and family. "So it's just an absolute blessing, to be honest, that I'm still here - I feel very