While waiting for a donor heart to become available, an Australian man suffering from acute heart failure survived for an unprecedented 105 days with a metal heart.
Before receiving his donor heart, he lived at home for almost a month, making him the first person in history to be released from the hospital with the titanium device.
According to a statement from Monash University, the transplant was performed at St. Vincent Hospital in Sydney on November 22, 2024, over the course of six hours. This patient underwent a transplant as part of the hospital's Artificial Heart Frontiers Program, which develops and tests innovative technologies such as pumps and the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH).
The man is from New South Wales, Australia, and is in his early 40s. He asked not to be named. Early in February, he was well enough to leave the hospital with his prosthetic titanium heart, and on March 6, he was given his donor heart. He is currently "recovering well," according to a statement from Monash University.
According to Professor Chris Hayward, a cardiologist at St. Vincent Hospital, the successful treatment "ushers in a whole new ball game for heart transplants."
"In the next ten years, patients who cannot wait for a donor heart or are in situations where a donor heart is not readily available will have an artificial heart as an alternative."
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According to maker BiVACOR, the titanium device is "designed to be a long-term device that can replace the total function of the patient's native heart" and features a small external controller powered by rechargeable batteries.
Last July, the Texas Heart Institute at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center at Texas Medical Center performed the first metal heart implantation. This is the longest someone has survived with the heart while waiting for a donor; however, four other implants have been performed in the United States.
According to the statement, "The long-term goal is for implant recipients to be able to live with their device without needing a heart transplant."
source: https://people.com/
Alexander Antobre Dwumah
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