By Lacie Hales
The University of Utah and the Utah Artificial Heart Institute held a two-day symposium at the Huntsman cancer center last weekend to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of the first artificial heart implanted into a human being.
The symposium celebrated Barney Clark, the recipient of the artificial heart, as well as all of the medical breakthroughs that stemmed from that operation, said Christopher Nelson, director of the University Health Care Public Affairs.
Clark was the first person in the world to receive a completely artificial heart. Clark lived for 112 days after the surgery, which took place at the University of Utah in 1982.
'Barney Clark set the stage,' Nelson said. 'He really laid the foundation for the treatment of heart disease.'
Speakers at the symposium included Dr. Lyle Joyce and Dr. Don Olsen, who were members of the surgical team that implanted the heart into Clark, as well as Clark''s granddaughter, Dr. Julie Dee, Nelson said.
More than 100 people attended the conference over Friday and Saturday. About 30 speakers from Utah and around the world spoke about artificial organ research, treatment for heart disease and being a part of the first transplant, Nelson said.
Julie Dee, Clark''s granddaughter, spoke on behalf of the family and brought the best wishes of her grandmother, Nelson said.
Dee emphasized that the family had no regrets and that Clark knew what he was getting into with the surgery, Nelson said.
Other speakers talked about the medical breakthroughs that have occurred over the last 25 years and what they hope to see in the future, from refinements of artificial hearts to stem cell research in rebuilding heart tissue, Nelson said.
Although the first artificial heart was implanted in 1982, the idea for artificial organs had been around for more than 40 years.
Dr. Willem Kolff began to develop the first artificial heart in the Netherlands during the 1940s, said Donald Isaacs, Director of Communication for SynCardia Systems, Inc.
'He is the most prolific creator of artificial organs in the world,' Isaacs said.
Kolff came to the United States and created a team that eventually developed the Jarvik 7 artificial heart - the type of heart that was implanted into Clark.
SynCardia owns the CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart, which is the modern Jarvik heart, Isaacs said.
These artificial hearts are currently implanted in 25 people in Europe and four in the United States, Isaacs said.
Seventy-nine percent of those implanted are able to receive donor hearts, and 70 percent are still living after one year, which is a great success rate, he said.
Isaacs said that heart disease is the number one killer in the United States, and artificial hearts are, 'only for the sickest of the sick.' They give many people a second chance at life, he said.