The boy lives with his heart in a backpack

Stan Larkin, 25 years old, living in Michigan (USA) has lived for nearly a year and a half with an artificial heart outside his body while waiting for an organ transplant at the University of Michigan Hospital.

Larkin with heart outside body.

After waiting 17 months, Larkin finally got his transplant. His brother also relies on an artificial heart device called SynCardia, but received it earlier.

Both Larkin brothers have dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that can strike otherwise healthy people without warning. It is also the leading cause of stroke in athletes.

Larkin (left) and his brother at the press conference.

Professor Jonathan Haft, Larkin's heart surgeon, said both were in very poor condition when they were in intensive care. At that time, there was no organ available for transplant. Both were adapting to the artificial heart as much as possible.

The SynCardia artificial heart has two chambers inside the body, with two tubes connected to an air pump that pumps blood throughout the body. The machine can run on batteries for up to three hours. Instead of staying in the hospital, Larkin wore the 6kg machine in his backpack and went about his daily life. He even played basketball.

The two chambers of the heart are connected outside the body.

The artificial heart can last up to 50 years, but patients are only allowed to use it as a support measure for a maximum of two years, due to the risk of blood clots.

In the US alone, there are hundreds of thousands of people waiting for organ transplants, 22 people die every day. In the case of the Larkin brothers, Professor Haft hopes to popularize this device because even 2 years is a golden time for patients, especially with severe complications such as muscle spasms.

At a press conference afterward, Larkin described mixed emotions about being able to return to a completely normal life. "I'm so grateful to the donor. I hope I get to meet them one day," he said.

According to Dan Viet