![]() Given these factors, the University of Utah was dropped as a clinical testing site in 1986. In addition, excellent cardiologists at the hospital treated many heart failure patients with medication and avoided surgery altogether. The transplant program successfully located hearts for patients and negated the need for artificial organs. Regardless of future attempts to utilize the artificial heart, Barney Clark’s implant was the only one performed at the University of Utah Medical Center. Nevertheless, they planned to use artificial hearts for some patients, especially those who could not find a transplant or did not qualify for the transplant program. They thought that the cost and risk of maintaining artificial hearts had more potential for long-term complications. Barney Clark, a 61 year old dentist from Seattle suffering from extreme congestive heart failure so severe that a normal heart transplant was not an option. By 1985 the medical center had established a transplant program, and directors felt it would be the best long-term solution for qualifying patients. Over time, the University of Utah changed its focus from permanently implanting the artificial heart to using it as a bridge to transplant. In fact, I think it’s a crime to prolong life when it means prolonging suffering.” In 1982, the first implantation of the Jarvik 7 in patient Barney Clark caught the attention of media around the world. I am not the least interested in prolonging life if it’s not enjoyable. Robert Jarvik, MD is widely known as the inventor of the first successful permanent artificial heart, the Jarvik 7. And, if it does not restore him to an enjoyable life, then we should not do it. “Before we apply an artificial organ to any recipient, we should ask ourselves if it will make the life of that recipient more enjoyable. Kolff adamantly insisted that quality of life must be taken into consideration. The team at the University of Utah felt that the patient should be the first priority. ![]() They wondered who should be selected as a patient for future surgeries, the sickest or the least sick candidate? And, should future implants be performed more for the patient’s benefit or the benefit of experimentation and medical discovery? Others highlighted the ethical questions the case produced. john watson of the national institutes of health about the advances in this technology over the last 13 years. Some accused Kolff, DeVries, and Jarvik of “playing God” by intervening to save seriously ill persons. barney clark lived for 112 days after the operation. Many had severe reservations about the artificial heart. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |