Other editions of book Robert Jarvik and the First Artificial Heart

The first patients to receive transplanted and artificial organs died, often after long periods of suffering. Despite these setbacks, the promise of saving a patient's life from an implanted organ was compelling enough to drive doctors and scientists to pursue transplants and artificial organs throughout the 20th century. Eventually, a number of medical pioneers succeeded in transplanting organs, including the heart. Man-made hearts have been less successful. This is the story of one man who has tried to overcome those odds. He is the son of a prominent surgeon and only became interested in medicine when heart disease nearly killed his father. Rejected by over a dozen medical schools, he left the United States to study in Italy and then worked in a New York medical supply house. His opportunity to be on the forefront of artificial heart development began when he was hired as a lab assistant earning just 100 dollars a week. He dreamed of creating an artificial heart. He hoped that someday a man-made heart could save the lives of people like his father. His name is Robert Jarvik and this is his story.