Can titanium hearts be a donor shortage solution worldwide? | Health news

An Australian man with heart failure has become the first man in the world to survive more than 100 days with an artificial heart from Titan, while waiting to receive a donor transplant.

The breakthrough hopes that completely mechanical hearts can one day replace the need for donor transplants.

Diseases of the heart and surrounding blood vessels are the leading cause of death worldwide, killing about 17.9 million people every year, according to the World Health Organization.

Here's what we know about how Titan's heart works and can a global donor shorter?

What happened to the man with an artificial heart?

The man of his forties, who refused to be identified, became the first person to be discharged from a hospital with a completely artificial heart implant.

During a six -hour surgery in November 2024, at St. Vincent Hospital in Sydney, Bivacor Total Artificial Heart (TAH), made by Titan, was implanted to the patient who has experienced Severe heart failureS

After spending several weeks in intensive treatment, followed by hospital monitoring, 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 is currently recovering well, according to his doctors.

Has anyone else had a titanium transplant?

In July 2024, a 57-year-old man with end-stage heart failure received Tah Bivacor at the Baylor St Luke Medical Center in Houston, Texas.

It was the first human implantation of the titanium heart, serving as a bridge to a true heart transplant. The device has supported the patient for eight days in the hospital until the donor's heart becomes available.

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

Can you decide a shortage of a donor of the heart?

Titanic heart could help deal with donor deficiency by keeping patients alive while waiting for real heart transplantation. However, it is not yet certain whether it can ever serve as a constant substitute for the human heart.

The procedures in the United States, for example, were part of an early feasibility study with five people approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the country (FDA), planning to expand the test to another 15 patients in the coming months. The purpose of such trials is to determine whether the titanic heart can safely Keep patients alive while waiting for a transplant.

Finding a Donor heart is not easy because there is not enough available and a heart -comparison with a patient can take time. In the United Kingdom, for example, patients in the regular Donor waiting list usually wait 18 to 24 months. Those who are emergency or emergency cases are prioritized and can get a heart earlier as their condition is more critical.

Heart failure affects at least 26 million people worldwide, including 6.2 million adults in the United States. However, cardiac transplants remain rare, with less than 6,000 being performed globally each year, reserved only for the most severe cases.

How does Titan's heart work?

The titanium artificial heart works very differently from the real heart. Naturally heart beats by squeezing and relaxing to pump blood, but this artificial heart does not beat at all.

Instead, it has a rotating disc inside that moves the blood around the body. This disk sails in place with the help of magnets, so it never touches anything, which means that there is no friction and a slightest chance that it will wear out over time.

In order to continue working, the artificial heart needs a small external controller that is powered by batteries during the day and switched on in a power source at night. A thin cable flows under the skin to connect the heart to this controller.

Most artificial heart devices replace only one side of the heart, usually the left side. But Bivacor's heart completely replaces the entire organ, which makes it an option for people whose whole heart fails and who may not survive while waiting for a donor heart.

Why was titanium chosen an artificial heart?

The titanium is chosen as it is strong, light and resistant to corrosion, which makes it ideal for long -term use in the body. Unlike other artificial hearts that have multiple moving parts that can be worn, this one has only one rotating disk, reducing failureS

Prior to the development of the artificial heart of Bivacor, Syncardia Total Artificial Heart is the most commonly used device for patients with severe heart failure.

Approved by the FDA in the early 2000s, the heart of Syncardia was made up of polyurethane, a type of durable plastic. Over the last two decades, it has been temporarily implanted in more than 2000 patients in 20 countries, while they were expecting donor transplants in the heart. However, the device of Syncardia is relatively large and complex, with multiple moving parts that can wear out over time.

Scientists are also examined with the help of animal organs For the treatment of heart failure. In January 2022, surgeons at the Maryland University Medical Center in the United States performed the first transplantation of a genetically modified pork heart into a human patient with severe heart disease.

Despite the initial success, the patient develops complications and died About two months later.

How long can Titan's heart last?

At the moment, no one knows the right life of the heart of Titan in humans. In laboratory tests, the device has been working continuously for more than four years without signs of damage.

While the 100-day process of the Australian man was the longest recorded use of the titanic heart in a man, the Bivacor team has said Additional tests are needed to determine whether it can become a long -term replacement, not just a temporary bridge to transplantation.

The development of the device began in 2001, when Daniel Tims, inspired by his father's heart, began working on the concept during his doctor at the Technical University of Queensland in Australia. Since then, he has undergone years of research, redesigning and testing in animals such as calves and pigs.

What challenges come with an artificial heart?

One of the largest challenges in organ transplantation is immune rejection, whereby the body attacks the new organ as a foreign object.

Since Bivacor Titanium Heart does not contain any biological tissue, the risk of rejection is lower than the hearts of donors or pig transplants. However, test protocols show that patients are still taking medicines to prevent clotting around the device.

In addition, patients with the heart of Bivacor should remain associated with an external power source at any time.

While portable battery packs allow some mobility, the process still requires lifestyle adjustments, such as battery recharging, avoiding activities that could damage the external parts and plan the trip carefully to provide access to power.