Australian man becomes first to leave hospital with total artificial heart
An Australian man with severe heart failure has become the first person in the world to walk out of a hospital with a total artificial heart implant, The Guardian reported. The groundbreaking procedure, performed at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, allowed the patient to live with the device for over 100 days before receiving a donor heart transplant in early March.
The BiVACOR total artificial heart, developed by Queensland-born Dr. Daniel Timms, is the first implantable rotary blood pump designed to fully replace a human heart. Using magnetic levitation technology, it mimics the natural blood flow of a healthy heart.
While still in early clinical trials, the device is intended to support patients with end-stage biventricular heart failure as they await a donor heart. However, researchers hope it could eventually serve as a long-term alternative to transplantation.
Professor Chris Hayward, a cardiologist at St Vincent’s, described the innovation as a game-changer for heart failure treatment. “Within the next decade, we may see artificial hearts as an option for patients who cannot wait for a donor,” he said. The Australian government has invested $50 million in the project, which is part of the Monash University-led Artificial Heart Frontiers Program.
