An Australian man lived for 100 days with an artificial titanium heart while he awaited a donor transplant, the longest period to date of someone with the technology.
The patient, a man in his 40s who declined to be identified, received the implant during surgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney last November.
In February, he became the first person worldwide to leave hospital with the device, which kept him alive until a heart donor became available earlier this month.
I have talked about this stuff with a cardio surgery nurse. These pumps are effective but generally require regular transfusions due to the impellers shredding the blood cells. That’s why the more complex pumps that mimic real heart motion have such interest.