Man lives for 104 days with artificial titanium heart inside him in groundbreaking trial
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: BiVACOR
A man successfully lived with an artificial titanium heart for 104 days, making him the first person to do so for this length of time.
The man is question is in his 40s and waiting for a donor transplant.
The time it takes to get a heart donation in the US 'ranges from days to months', says PennMedicine.
There are several contributing factors that depend on the speed of a person getting a heart donor, some of which include your blood type, how sick you are, and your body size.
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With this in mind, some patients are in need of an interim device to see them through to their transplant - which is where artificial titanium heart comes in.
BiVACOR is the US-Australian company behind the game-changing device. The tech has just one moving part, a levitated rotor that’s held in place by magnets, CNN explained.
The man who had the heart fitted has the procedure at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia. He'd been suffering with severe heart failure and is now 'recovering well' after having since had a proper transplantation.
While the artificial heart is currently being used as a bridge to keep people healthy ahead of a transplantation, it's hoped that it will go on to become a long-term alternative for the human heart.
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In light of the patient having the heart for 104 days, BiVACOR’s founder, Australian bioengineer Daniel Timms, has spoken out.
"The entire BiVACOR team is deeply grateful to the patient and his family for placing their trust in our Total Artificial Heart," he said in a statement.
"Their bravery will pave the way for countless more patients to receive this lifesaving technology."
The patient was discharged from hospital in February, making him the first person in the world to leave a hospital with the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart.
He then had a real heart transplantation earlier this month.
Professor Chris Hayward, from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, said that the artificial heart has sparked 'a whole new ball game for heart transplants'.
Hayward, who is overseeing recovery of the man who had the procedure, said: "Within the next decade we will see the artificial heart becoming the alternative for patients who are unable to wait for a donor heart or when a donor heart is simply not available."
This case follows another successful case last year which saw a man with end-stage heart failure kept alive for eight days with the help of the artificial heart until a donor became available.