This man has just received a full heart transplant who survived more than one year without a human heart. 25-year-old Stan Larkin was diagnosed with familial cardiomyopathy, a condition that leads to heart failure.
Instead, Stan Larkin wore an ‘artificial heart’ in a backpack 24/7 for 555 days, which pumped blood around his body and kept him alive. His brother was diagnosed with the same; however Stan’s situation was worse at the time.
Back in 2014, Stan became the first patient in Michigan to be discharged with the artificial heart device. A heart transplant was out of the question in that situation, so they connected Stan to a portable machine that performed the functions of a heart and had to be carried in a backpack.
The machine is called SynCardia Freedom Portable Driver. Stan didn’t get a heart transplant till 2016. Today, Stan has a new heart and is no longer supported by the machine.
“It was an emotional roller coaster. I got the transplant two weeks ago and I feel like I could take a jog as we speak. I want to thank the donor who gave themselves for me. I’d like to meet their family one day. Hopefully, they’d want to meet me,” Stan said.