Australian man survives for 105 days with titanium heart in world first

An Australian man in his 40s has become the first patient in the world to be discharged from hospital fitted with a completely artificial heart.

The man, who suffered from severe heart failure, lived with the BiVacor Total Artificial Heart, a blood pump made of titanium, for more than 100 days before receiving a heart transplant on Thursday last week.

By early February, he could be discharged while fitted with the device. He returned early this month to receive a donor heart – 105 days since obtaining the implant.

“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 said in a statement.

“With this innovation, the long-term goal is for patients to live with the device indefinitely without needing a transplant.”