An Australian man survived for 100 days with an artificial titanium heart while awaiting a donor transplant, marking the longest known use of this technology to date.
The patient, a man in his 40s who wished to remain anonymous, received the implant during surgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney last November.
In February, he became the first person globally to leave the hospital with the device, which kept him alive until a heart donor was found earlier this month.
A statement released on March 12 by St. Vincent’s Hospital, Monash University, and BiVACOR—the US-Australian company behind the device—confirmed that the patient, who had severe heart failure, was “recovering well.”
The success of the device in sustaining the patient for such an extended period is being hailed as a potential breakthrough in providing a long-term solution for those with heart failure. However, the device is still undergoing trials and has not yet been approved for general use.
Daniel Timms, the Australian bioengineer who founded BiVACOR, created the device following his father’s death from heart disease. He expressed his excitement, stating, “It’s exhilarating to see decades of work come to fruition.” He also thanked the patient and his family for their trust in the technology, noting that their bravery would help others benefit from this lifesaving innovation.
The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH) features a single moving part—a levitated rotor supported by magnets. Made of titanium, it has no valves or mechanical bearings that could wear out. It replaces both ventricles of a failing heart and pumps blood to the body and lungs.
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, claiming around 18 million lives each year, according to the World Health Organization. The long-term goal for the BiVACOR heart is to provide a solution for patients on heart transplant waiting lists. In 2024, the US Health Department reported that about 3,500 heart transplants were performed, while 4,400 individuals were added to the waiting list.
Professor Chris Hayward from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, who is overseeing the Australian patient’s recovery and helped prepare the device for clinical trials, called the BiVACOR heart a game-changer for heart transplants. “Within the next decade, we will see the artificial heart becoming the alternative for patients unable to wait for a donor heart or when a donor is not available,” he said.
The device has also been successfully tested in the US Food and Drug Administration’s Early Feasibility Study, where five patients received the implant.
