Australian Man Survives 100 Days with World-First Artificial Heart

A Sydney man in his 40s has made medical history, becoming the first person in the world to walk out of hospital with a total artificial heart implant.

After living with the device for more than 100 days, he successfully received a donor heart transplant in early March—an achievement Australian surgeons are calling an “unmitigated clinical success.”

The groundbreaking device, known as the BiVACOR total artificial heart, was designed by Queensland-born Dr. Daniel Timms. Unlike previous artificial hearts, this one uses magnetic levitation technology to replicate the natural blood flow of a healthy heart. Essentially, it replaces the entire human heart and is meant to keep patients alive until a donor organ becomes available.

However, the long-term vision for BiVACOR is even bigger: a future where patients don’t need a transplant at all and can live permanently with the artificial heart.

This patient—who had severe heart failure—became the first Australian and the sixth person in the world to receive the implant. The first five recipients were in the US last year, but all received donor hearts before leaving the hospital, with the longest wait being 27 days.

In contrast, the Sydney patient received his artificial heart in a six-hour surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital on November 22—and then went on to live with the device for over three months before getting his transplant.

Surgeons are understandably thrilled by the success, with lead cardiothoracic and transplant surgeon Paul Jansz and his team calling it a huge step forward in heart failure treatment.

For now, the patient’s story is one of medical triumph—but if BiVACOR’s long-term goal becomes a reality, it could completely change the future of heart disease treatment worldwide.