Man goes without heart for 555 days

Q.  Who went 555 days wearing an artificial heart backpack?
- Published on 14 Jun 16

a. Stan Larkin
b. Stan Smith
c. Stan Seymour
d. Stan Cartland

ANSWER: Stan Larkin
 
Without a heart to pump oxygenated blood around the body, you die pretty quickly. Transplants though, are hard to come by, which is why scientists are looking into using CRISPR to allow pigs to host human-like hearts.
  • In the meantime, however, one 25-year-old man has proved that it's possible to live over a year while literally heartless.
  • Stan Larkin went a massive 555 days wearing an 'artificial heart' backpack, which filled in after his ticker was removed while he awaited a transplant donor.
  • While implantable defibrillators and similar technology can assist with partial heart failure, this device - known as Syncardia - is designed to be used when both sides of the heart fail.

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