An Australian man suffers from heart palaces, the first person in the world remains more than 100 days with the artificial Titanium heart while waiting to receive the donor transplant.

This penetration raises hopes that the mechanical hearts will one day solve the need for donor transplants.

The surrounding cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in the world, killing about 17.9 million people every year, according to the World Health Organization.

Here is what to know about how Titanium Heart works, and can he solve global donor deficiency?

What happened with the man with an artificial heart?

The man in his forties, who refused to identify his identity, became the first person to be unloaded from the hospital by fully implantation of the artificial heart.

During a six -hour surgery in November 2024 at St. Vincent Hospital in Sydney, the THAT (TAH) was planted with Titanium in the patient, who was suffering Caster heart insufficiency.

After spending a few weeks in intensive care, followed by the hospital, the patient was discharged in early February.

He lived with the artificial heart for 105 days before receiving a donor heart transplant on March 6, and he is currently recovering well, according to his doctors.

Did anyone else had a Titanium heart transplant?

In July 2024, a 57 -year -old man with a palaces at the end of the Tah Bivacor at the Baylor Saint Luke Medical Center in Houston, Texas.

This was the first human cultivation of titanium heart, as it was a bridge for the real heart transplant. Support the sick device for eight days in the hospital until the donkey’s heart is available.

Between July and November 2024, four other men received in the mid -1940s until the mid -sixties in the United States, Bivacor Tah. Each patient successfully moved to a donor heart transplant and was discharged from the hospital within one month. None of the United States patients left the hospital with the device.

Can the decrease of donors to the heart be resolved?

Titanium’s heart can help treat a grant deficiency by keeping patients alive while waiting for real heart transplantation. However, it is still not certain whether it can serve as a permanent alternative to the human heart.

The procedures in the United States, for example, were part of an early feasibility study of five people approved by the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with plans to expand the experiment to 15 other patients in the coming months. The goal of such experiences is to determine whether the heart of titanium can safely Keep patients alive While they are waiting for a transplant.

Finding a given heart is not easy because there is not enough, and it can take some time to match the heart of the patient. In the UK, for example, patients are usually waiting for the regular waiting menu from 18 to 24 months. Those who suffer from urgent emergencies or emergency situations get a priority and may receive an urgent heart because their condition is more important.

Heart insufficiency affects at least 26 million people around the world, including 6.2 million adults in the United States. However, heart transplants are still rare, as less than 6000 worldwide is performed every year, only for the most severe cases.

How does titanium heart work?

Titanium artificial heart works completely differently from a real heart. The natural heart beats by pressure and relaxation to pump blood, but this artificial heart does not beats at all.

Instead, it contains a yarn disk inside the blood around the body. This disk floats in place with a magnet, so it never touches anything, which means that there is no friction and less opportunity over time.

To keep running, the artificial heart needs a small external control unit, supported by batteries during the day and connecting it to an energy source at night. A thin cable works under the skin to connect the heart to this control unit.

Most artificial hearts replace only one side of the heart, usually the left side. But the heart of Bivacor replaces the entire organ, which makes it an option for people whose heart completely fails and may not survive while waiting for the donkey’s heart.

Why was titanium chosen for an artificial heart?

Titanium is chosen because it is strong, lightweight and corrosive, which makes it ideal for long -term use in the body. Unlike other artificial hearts, which contain multiple animated parts that can wear out, this one contains only one yarn disk, which reduces The risk of failure.

Before the development of the artificial heart, the total artificial heart was the most used device for patients with severe heart failure.

It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the early first decade of the twentieth century, the heart is built in the first place of polyurethane, a type of durable plastic. Over the past two decades, it has been temporarily planted in more than 2000 patients in 20 countries while waiting for donor heart transplants. However, the Syncardia device is large and relatively complex, with multiple animation can be worn over time.

Scientists also have It was explored using animal organs To treat heart failure. In January 2022, surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center in the United States performed the first genetically modified pork transplant to a human patient with severe heart disease.

Despite the initial success, the patient developed complications and Pass Almost two months later.

How long can the titanium heart continue?

Currently, no one knows the exact age of the heart of titanium in humans. In laboratory tests, the device works continuously for more than four years without marks of failure.

While the Australian man’s experience for 100 days was the longest registered use of titanium heart, the Bivacor team He said More experiments are needed to determine whether it can become a long -term alternative instead of just a temporary bridge for a transplant.

The development of the device began in 2001 when Daniel Times, inspired by his father’s heart, began working on the concept during his doctorate at Queensland University of Technology in Australia. Since then, he underwent years of research, redesign and testing animals such as calves and pigs.

What challenges come with an artificial heart?

One of the biggest challenges with organ transplants is the rejection of immunity, as the body attacks the new organ as a strange object.

Since the heart of Bivacor Titanium does not contain any biological tissue, the risk of rejection is less compared to the hearts of the donors or the pork’s heart transplants. However, experience protocols indicate that patients are still taking soft blood to prevent clotting around the device.

In addition, patients with Bivacor should remain in contact with an external energy source at all times.

Although the portable battery packages allow some mobility, the process still requires lifestyle adjustments such as recharge the battery, avoiding activities that may damage the external parts, and plan to travel carefully to ensure energy access.