Patient discharged with total artificial heart for first time—goes 105 days while awaiting transplant

A patient in Australia was the first in the world to be discharged with BiVACOR’s total artificial heart (TAH) technology while waiting to receive a heart transplant. The patient had the device for a total of 105 days before a donor heart became available. The heart transplant, performed March 6, was a success. 

The patient received the BiVACOR TAH in November at St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney. It was the first implantation of the device to be performed outside of the United States. More implants are planned as part of the ongoing Artificial Heart Frontiers Program, which received $50 million in funding from the Australia Medical Research Future Fund.

Recipients of BiVACOR’s TAH technology typically wait in the hospital, sometimes for as long as a month, while a donor heart is located. The fact that this patient was allowed to go home while waiting represents a considerable step forward for these advanced devices.

“It is incredibly rewarding to see our device provide extended support to the first Australian patient,” Daniel Timms, PhD, founder and chief technology officer of BiVACOR, said in a statement. “The unique design and features of the BiVACOR TAH translate into an unparalleled safety profile, and it’s exhilarating to witness decades of work come to fruition. The Australian patient is the longest to be supported by the BiVACOR TAH implant while waiting for a heart transplant, allowing him to celebrate another birthday, Christmas, and New Year with friends and family, free from the symptoms of heart failure.”