Bringing the Future of Cardiovascular Health to Life®
Meet Batson. At 57 years old, Batson faced the unimaginable — end-stage heart failure. He was approved for a heart transplant, but like so many others, time was running out. The supply of donor organs cannot meet the demand, and Batson’s health was declining rapidly. Batson and his family needed a miracle.
On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, as most of Houston was reeling from the devastating effects from Hurricane Beryl, that miracle came – not in the form of a donor heart, but rather something even more extraordinary. Batson would be the first-ever human recipient of the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH), implanted at The Texas Heart Institute.
This groundbreaking procedure bought him the time he needed and six days later, Batson celebrated his 58th birthday – a milestone his family thought they might not see.
Two days after that, Batson got a second chance at life. He received his permanent donor heart and is now home with his family, celebrating the miracle.
Although BiVACOR’s TAH is currently being used as a bridge to heart transplant, the future is even brighter as this innovative device holds the potential to become a permanent solution and reduce or eliminate the waitlist crisis and complications of heart transplants.
The quest for a durable total artificial heart began when Dr. Denton A. Cooley implanted the first artificial heart in 1969. Since then, THI has been working on a series of solutions for patients, like Batson, with end-stage heart disease. BiVACOR is the latest in a series of breakthrough technologies designed and refined at THI.
With heart failure remaining a leading cause of mortality globally, the BiVACOR TAH offers a beacon of hope for countless patients awaiting a heart transplant.
Today, The Texas Heart Institute continues to invest in cutting-edge research to improve the quality of life for all patients with cardiovascular disease.
While federal and state funding support a portion of our research at The Texas Heart Institute, it does not support all that we do. Investments, from supporters like you, help advance research and save patients, like Batson!
Please join our efforts by financially supporting our mission to improve cardiovascular health through trailblazing research, thought leadership, education, and patient care.
On behalf of the countless patients we help each day, thank you for considering us in your year-end giving plans. We appreciate your support and look forward to sharing our future — and the future of cardiovascular health — with you.
Please join our efforts by financially supporting our mission to improve cardiovascular health through trailblazing research, thought leadership, education, and patient care.
On behalf of the countless patients like Batson that we help each day, thank you for considering us in your year-end giving plans. We appreciate your support and look forward to sharing our future — and the future of cardiovascular health — with you.
