
Clark's Death, Barney Clark Takes One for the Team SynCardia, 25th Anniversary Video ''It became obvious that the artificial heart could not support the rest of the body as it died, and it was obvious that the circulatory collapse was essentially exactly that - death of the entire being except for the artificial heart.''īarney Clark survieved for 112 Days. When his brain finally stopped funtioning and Barney was declared "brain dead", 'The Key Was Turned Off'.ĭr. Days turned into weeks then months as he continue to struggle to the extent that on several occasions Barney asked to be allowed to die. Kolff at the University of Utah.Įxpected post operative problems were many: A colon infection, kidney and lung problems, drifting in and out of consciousness and cronic clotting which caused strokes. William DeVries under the supervision of Willem J. Clark (born Januin Provo, Utah) became the *1st human to receive a totally artificial heart to sustain him for the rest of his life. But with only hours to live, Barney and his wife Una Loy volunteered not only for Barney, but also in the interest of advancement of medical science so others may benefit from what was to be learned.

He also knew that the survival rate was virtually nil.

Clark understood the pumonary infection problems with the device along with being tethered to a large external compressor. The FDA had recently approved the new Jarvik 7 artificial heart for human implantation. 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.
