World First: Heart Made from Titanium Kept a Man Alive for 8 Days
In the News
No , it's not something from the Wizard of Oz, The Tin Woodsman didn't receive this metal heart
But a patient waiting for a heart transplant did, and he survived 8 days until a real donor heart was available
It is made from titanium and has a single moving part , but makes no contact within the chamber , so there is no wear and tear
Although just a temporary fix, the scientists think this could be something that could be a permanent mechanical replacement in the future
So forget having a heart of gold or of stone, or even Debbie Harrys' heart of glass, we could soon be looking at a heart of steel, well, titanium
Maybe Marvel had an inkling of the future with their new film 'Ironheart'
www.independent.co.uk/news/science/titanium-heart-transplant-surgery-california-b2590133.html
It is amazing what scientists can do these days and I am all for this kind of research. What I am against is giving liver transplants to alcohics.
eyeballkerry The problem is E is that its difficult to know sometimes what has caused a certain part of someones body to fail , heart failure can be hereditary or through an unhealthy lifestyle , so the doctors would have to make an ethical decision who to treat if based on that reason. The same for people that are overweight, do you not treat someone who is obese saying they are to blame when in some cases they may not be , i think this is why all people are treated equally , it would create so many problems and extra work for the NHS
I think this is an awful Idea I would love to have my loved ones back or around for longer but they are messing with nature too much
Signs and glimpse of the future when humans will become hybrids, half human, half machine
Cyborg era is upon us, it's amazing what science can do these days, I get the comments on how far should science go before it's too much and I personally think it depends on quality of life if this heart replacement can give the person time in which they can fully recover and have a good life it's a good thing, it's when the consequences out weigh the solution then we should step back and say thats enough.
WOW! This gives me so much hope. I have 2 stents from heart attack I had in 2022. Thanks for sharing this Tel. They are using technology in so many ways now. If they had managed to operate on me sooner I probably wouldn't have the painful complications I've got now with my nerve system. 
This is incredible news, waiting lists for donors for any organ can be really long so this really could be save lives. also a nice positive story for once instead of negative, thank you for sharing 
I think this is amazing news. I’ve a 8yr old nephew who needed open heart surgery at 5wks old and a 7yr old granddaughter who also had open heart surgery at 3. My nephews heart condition was diagnosed at birth, he took a stroke at birth and within hrs started fitting. Thankfully he was in hospital and had great drs. My granddaughters was caught by accident, she fell off bed and few hrs later started being sick. My daughter and sil took her to hospital and she was getting checked out. The dr in a&e that day was actually a heart dr and asked my daughter did she know my granddaughter had heart problem. My daughter said yes, she was born with small hole in her heart but they said it would be closed by now. Dr said that’s no hole and referred them straight to children’s hospital to see heart consultant. Within 6mths she’d open heart surgery and was told they were very lucky as her heart wouldn’t have kept her alive much longer. That was 3 and half yrs ago and every time I see her I’m reminded how lucky we are to still have her here. I’m in total support of anything like this especially if it will help children, young adults and all who should have a long future in front of them but it’s cut short by unforeseen circumstances. My neighbour had major heart attack last Aug, she’s 42, slim, eats healthily and walks regularly. It was completely out of blue but within minutes of me getting her to hospital (we couldn’t get an ambulance) she was rushed through to back and she said there was bout 8-10 people in room, drs and nurses putting lines in, taking blood etc and she’d stints put in within 40mins of arriving at hospital. She’s single mum with 17yr old son and if she’d needed something like that to keep her alive till she got replacement heart I know she wouldn’t have thought twice bout doing it to be here for her son
chele44 our son was born with a rare and complex heart condition. We had no idea till he was born and couldn't sustain his oxygen. He was to rushed to NICU, then transfered to the cardiac ward of a different hospital and had his first surgery at 22 hours old. He couldn't breathe on his own and without the surgery would have died within a day or two. He then had his 12 hour open heart surgery at 9 months. We had always been told he would need it before he was one as without it he wouldn't live much past his first birthday. He is 5 and a half now and absolutely thriving.
Just like you I'm all for something like this. Amazing what they can do these days. Hope your nephew and granddaughter are both doing well.
chele44 Thanks for that C, it shows how many people suffer with heart conditions, as M posted before, thank goodness her son is healthy and well
One of my nieces was born with a heart defect, luckily she got through it and is fit and healthy also and has her own family, but i am sure she would have welcomed this technology if it was a matter of life and death
I am not sure I would like a lump of metal inside my body rather than organic tissue. I wouldn't feel at ease and like Leanne I feel natural selection is nature's way of keeping the population down. Having said that I am a total hypocrite and would be for it to keep my sons or grandchildren alive, but not for me, that is one hypocritical step too far.
Lynibis To be honest L i don't see much difference between this and a titanium implant for say a replacement hip or other bone structure , both are metal but have the advantage of the body rejecting them less , unlike an organic replacement where a patient needs constant drugs to get the body to accept the replacement organic organ
Then there are prosthetics like artificial arms and legs , they have given so much freedom to people who have had the trauma of losing one or the other, they are either metal or a type of plastic
I think it is because it is a heart, and there is so much sentimentality about it, in verse and many other ways.
If it was a metal liver or kidney nobody would bat an eyelid , which is one thing you couldn't have in metal 
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