"Heralding a new era"

Australian man survives 100 days with an artificial heart

The device, which looks like a relatively ordinary pump on the outside, is seen as hope for many millions of heart patients.(Bild: BiVACOR Inc)

A man from Australia has become the first patient in the world to receive a completely artificial heart, enabling him to survive for over 100 days before successfully receiving a donor heart transplant. The operation is considered a major medical breakthrough, with researchers and doctors describing it as an "unqualified clinical success".

The BiVACOR total artificial heart was developed by Dr. Daniel Timms from Queensland. It is the world's first implantable rotary blood pump system that can completely replace a human heart. Using magnetic technology, it simulates the natural blood flow of a healthy heart.

Implant serves as a bridge
As the Guardian reported, the implant was designed for patients with severe bilateral heart failure, which is often caused by heart attacks or coronary heart disease. The implant serves as a bridge for patients waiting for a heart transplant, but in the long term there is hope that those affected will be able to live permanently with the artificial pump even without a donor organ.

Patient voluntarily opted for the procedure
The patient, a man in his 40s from New South Wales, suffered from severe heart failure and voluntarily opted for the implant. In November, the artificial heart was finally implanted in a six-hour operation at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney.

After several weeks in intensive care, the patient was discharged from hospital with the implant in February - a first in medical history. In March, a donor heart was finally found and successfully transplanted.

Cardiologist: "Will be a real alternative"
"It was a privilege to be part of this historic and groundbreaking medical advance," explained transplant surgeon Paul Jansz. "We have been working towards this moment for years and are immensely proud to be the first team in Australia to perform this procedure."

"This artificial heart heralds a new era for heart transplants - both in Australia and worldwide," said cardiologist Chris Hayward euphorically. "Within the next decade, it will be a real alternative for patients who have to wait too long for a donor heart or for whom no suitable donor organ is available."

Still nowhere near as functional as donor hearts
David Colquhoun from the University of Queensland also praised the technological progress. However, he warned that artificial hearts are still not nearly as long-lasting as donor hearts, which on average last over ten years (more than 3,000 days).

"This shows that there is still a long way to go before an artificial heart can be a complete alternative to transplantation," explained Colquhoun.

Hope for millions of heart patients
According to the Australian government, more than 23 million people worldwide suffer from heart failure, but only around 6000 receive a donor heart each year. The development of the BiVACOR artificial heart could be a solution to this problem and offer numerous patients a life-saving alternative.