An Australian resident has set a record by living with titanium heart implant 100 days waiting for a donor transplant.
This is the longest time a person has used an artificial titanium heart. It is noted that a man aged 40 was implanted at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney in November 2024.
In February, the Australian became the first person in the world, to be discharged from the hospital with a titanium heart implant. It kept him alive until a real donor was found in early March.
In a statement, representatives of St. Vincent’s Hospital, Monash University, and the American-Australian company that developed the implant said that the man, who had long suffered from severe heart failure, is now recovering.
The effectiveness of the titanium heart implant demonstrates the ability of such devices to work on a permanent basis, becoming an alternative to transplantation operations for people with severe heart failure. Currently, the implant is still being tested and has not been approved for widespread use.
According to the founder of BiVACOR, Australian bioengineer Daniel Timms, who developed an artificial titanium heart after the death of his own father, is «happy to see decades of hard work bear fruit».
«The entire BiVACOR team is deeply grateful to the patient and his family for their trust in our Total Artificial Heart Their bravery will pave the way for countless more patients to receive this life-saving technology», — Daniel Timms is convinced.
The Total Artificial Heart titanium implant has a movable rotor that is held in place by magnets. The device does not have valves or mechanical bearings that wear out over time. Total Artificial Heart pumps blood throughout the body and lungs, replacing both ventricles heart disease.
According to the WHO, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Every year from heart disease about 18 million people die.
The long-term goal of the BiVACOR developers is to use the Total Artificial Heart to save as many people as possible who are waiting for donors and heart transplants. According to the U.S. Department of Health, about 3.5 thousand people underwent heart transplants in 2024. Another 4.4 thousand people are on the waiting list for transplantation.
«The BiVACOR artificial heart has opened new horizons in the field of transplantation. Over the next decade, we will see the artificial heart become an alternative for patients who cannot wait for a donor heart or when a donor heart is simply not available», — predicted Professor Chris Hayward from the Victor Chang Heart Research Institute.
The titanium implant has already been tested in a preliminary study conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the results of this study, the Total Artificial Heart was successfully implanted in five patients.
The first implantation was performed in last July, when a 58-year-old man suffering from end-stage heart failure received an implant during surgery at the Texas Medical Center. The man walked with the titanium artificial heart for 8 days until a donor was found.
Source: CNN
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