The First Artificial Heart Transplant :: Barney Clark Health Medical Essays

The First Artificial Heart Transplant History was made on December 02, 1982 when Barney Clark became the first recipient of an faux midpoint transplant, which was performed by the medical staff at the University of Utah Medical Center. Although Barney Clark was the center of attention, there were many events that led up to this historical moment. The development of the artificial heart began in the early 1950s. The initial prototype, developed in 1970s by the artificial developmental staff at the University of Utah, totallyowed 50 hours of sustained life in a sheep. Although this was called a success, the implantation of the artificial heart left the sheep in a weakened state. It wasnt until late 1970s and the early 1980s where the improvement of the artificial heart actually received attention as a possible alternative to a heart transplant. The remodeled product of the early 1970s did more than provided the 50 hours of sustained life it enabled the c ow to live longer and to live a relatively normal life, with the exception of a machine attached to the animal. With this improvement, Dr. Willem J. Kolff, the repoint of the artificial developmental program at the University of Utah, and Dr. William DeVries, the head cardiac surgeon at the University of Utah, decided to take this device further. They wanted to develop a heart based on the heart tested in farm animals, to place into a human. This was done with the help of Dr. Robert Jarvik who developed the Jarvik-7. This device was made of plastic and aluminum. With all that they had accomplished, the staff at the University of Utahs artificial development program still had to wait 2 years before they found the right candidate for the project. Often, when the heart of an individual fails, the brain, the intestines, and the lungs will usually fail as well. Thus in choosing an individual, they had to find a person who only had cardiac complications an d no associated electric organ failure. They also had to find a patient that was not eligible for a traditional heart transplant.