Bioengineering in the Real World

Bioengineering in the Real World — page 5
Fighting Over Hearts The first artificial heart caused a major controversy The device had not yet been approved for human use Cooley did not ask permission to use DeBakey’s heart The result was a long feud Cooley claimed he used the heart to attempt to save a life But DeBakey believed using an untested product was wrong out of plastic metal and other materials The heart was an achievement of bioengineering Bioengineers blend biology and engineering They often create medical devices DeBakey’s artificial heart worked like a real heart The artificial heart was only a temporary solution It kept patients alive while waiting for a real organ to become available DeBakey’s heart had only been tested in animals The results did not look good However Haskell Karp was in dire need His doctor decided to try it On April 4 1969 Denton A Cooley took out Karp’s damaged heart He placed the artificial heart into Karp’s empty chest It worked Sadly Karp died three days 6