RECORD-BREAKING

Transplant Patient Lives More Than 100 Days With Titanium Heart

A man suffering from severe heart failure lived with the artificial heart for months while he waited for a donor heart to become available.

An Australian man suffering from severe heart failure lived for more than three months with a titanium heart while waiting for a donor organ. The patient, who was in his 40s, volunteered to undergo a 6-hour surgery to receive a BiVACOR titanium heart at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney in November. The device uses a magnetically suspended rotor to pump blood throughout the body and lungs at regular intervals—just like a regular human heart would. The patient remained in the hospital under close supervision until February, when he was allowed to go home. Earlier this month, doctors identified a matching donor heart, and the patient returned for a full, successful transplant surgery. His case marked the first time a patient has been allowed to leave the hospital with a titanium heart and the longest anyone has lived with the technology. Five other patients in the U.S. lived with the BiVACOR device for up to a month while awaiting full transplants. The Australian man, who wanted to remain anonymous, lived near the hospital and was able to lead a relatively normal life while he waited for the donor heart.