Amibor Heart

On September 13, 2002, mankind reached another technological milestone. Tom Christerson, a patient in Kentucky completed his first year of life sustained by a self-contained artificial heart. The heart, considered the body’s engine, keeps all the other organs working by supplying them with blood and nutrients. All of the body’s organs require blood to function. This means that a product of advanced technology, the plastic and titanium Abiocor heart, is now performing one of the most vital functions of a living human being.

The Abiocor heart is the result of decades of research. 1The first artificial heart dates back to the mid-fifties when a team of scientist’s led by Willem Kolff, a Dutch-born physician, tested their model in animals. In 1969, a team led by Denton Cooley of the Texas Heart Institute successfully kept the first human patient alive for more than sixty hours with their model. Then, in 1982, a team led by William DeVries of the University of Utah, implanted the Jarvik-7 artificial heart into a patient named Barney Clark, who lived for 112 days.

2The Jarvik-7 was an air-driven pump that required Clark be bound to a compressor the size of a wa

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They won’t be running marathons, but doctors hope they will be able to get out, shop, walk around and do household chores and other activities. “Nothing is more human than the artificial heart. Energy is transmitted through the patient’s skin, so there is less danger of infection. Both he and Barney Clark died, however, the Abiocor artificial heart gives us hope that in the future thanks to this technology, many will live. When man creates an artificial heart, he isn’t “tampering with nature”. A person can last about a half-hour without any kind of external battery, but most of the time the patient will have a battery pack around his waist. Robert Dowling of the Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, implanted the Abiocor heart into Robert Tools, the first of seven implant patients. ”

As for the motives of scientists, the best statement comes from Dr. 5She said “The major ethical question for the doctors at this stage is: Are scientists using patient’s as guinea pigs? In other words, can the patient expect something more than just life lying in bed? Are the offering them hope of having a better life?” Ethicists say we shouldn’t just use patients as guinea pigs, that we have to offer them something. However, he goes on to say, “By referring constantly to these science-fiction images of the alleged “dark side” of scientific progress, opponents of technology have tried to excuse themselves from the necessity of dealing with real scientific facts”.

After Clark’s death, hopes for an artificial heart faded. He was given only days to live and now he has survived for over a year, walks unassisted and is the first artificial heart patient to go home. 7 Success, he said, is “when we have made (the patient) better.

Common topics in this essay:
Tom Christerson, Barney Clark, World Frankenstein-like, Elizabeth Cohen, Ms Cohen, Laman Gray, artificial heart, Heart Institute, Kolff Dutch-born, HEART September, University Utah, abiocor heart, barney clark, team led, external battery, patients guinea pigs, laman gray, battery patient, guinea pigs, implanted abiocor, dr laman, external battery patient, implanted abiocor heart, artificial heart patient, dr laman gray,

Approximate Word count = 914
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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