In what sounds like a plot twist from a sci-fi movie, an Australian man in his 40s has become the first person in the world to be discharged from a hospital while fitted with a completely artificial heart—only to return months later for a transplant.
The patient, who suffered from severe heart failure, spent 105 days living with the BiVacor Total Artificial Heart, a titanium blood pump, before receiving a donor heart earlier this month.
The device, which uses magnetic levitation technology (yes, like high-speed trains), was implanted in a six-hour surgery at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital on November 22 as a temporary solution while he awaited a transplant.
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By early February, doctors determined he was stable enough to leave the hospital with a fully mechanical heart—a global first. He returned in March for a successful heart transplant, making history in the process.
“The patient holds the record for the longest time a BiVacor patient has gone from implant to transplant – a major step toward the future of artificial heart technology,” St Vincent’s Hospital said in a statement.
The BiVacor heart is designed to function indefinitely, potentially eliminating the need for transplants altogether. Five U.S. patients received the implant last year in an FDA feasibility study, but none were discharged while still using the device.
Dr. Paul Jansz, the cardiothoracic and transplant surgeon behind the groundbreaking procedure, called the technology a “complete game-changer.”
Jansz said it was a privilege to be part of such an historic and pioneering Australian medical milestone.
“We’ve worked towards this moment for years and we’re enormously proud to have been the first team in Australia to carry out this procedure,” Jansz said.
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Prof Chris Hayward, a cardiologist at St Vincent’s who led the observation of the man in after a few weeks in the intensive care unit, said the BiVACOR heart would transform heart failure treatment internationally.
“The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart ushers in a whole new ball game for heart transplants, both in Australia and internationally,” he 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.”
With advancements like these, we might be looking at a future where permanent artificial hearts replace transplants entirely. For now, this Australian man gets to say he’s had two hearts in one lifetime—one made of titanium and one made of flesh.
