First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met heart transplant patients as she marked 25 years of the life-saving procedure in Scotland.
A heart transplant is the only cure for people with heart failure, a condition which affects about 45,000 people across Scotland.
Read more: Nicola Sturgeon's mum to quit politics
Ms Sturgeon met patients and their families at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, at an event on Friday marking 25 years of the heart transplant service.
More than 350 transplants have been carried out in Scotland they began in 1991 and nearly a quarter of these operations - 80 - have taken place since the Heart and Lung Centre opened at the Golden Jubilee in 2008.
Ms Sturgeon said: "This event is to mark 25 years of Scotland's NHS providing a life-changing procedure - both for the recipient and their families - and it's been a pleasure to meet some of them today and during my time as First Minister and health secretary.
Read more: Nicola Sturgeon's mum to quit politics
"It would not be possible without the dedicated service of the immensely skilled staff within our health service or those selfless donors who have shown such kindness in giving one of the greatest gifts a person can give, and they all deserve a huge thank you for the part they have played in these last 25 years."
The hospital's chief executive Jill Young said: "Each year we hold an event dedicated to bringing together patients and families who have been treated by the service, letting them share their experiences and see that they are not alone.
Read more: Nicola Sturgeon's mum to quit politics
"This year, however, is a very special occasion for the NHS in Scotland: celebrating a landmark for this life-changing, life-saving service which has given patients all across Scotland a second chance at life."
Two patients given new hearts 24 years ago were at the event as well as to others who had a transplant this year.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here