Recipient of Jarvik-7 and Human Heart to Leave Hospital Today
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TUCSON — Former artificial heart recipient Michael Drummond is to be released from University of Arizona Medical Center today, more than two months after he made medical history, doctors said Wednesday.
Drummond, 26, is the youngest person ever to receive the polyurethane Jarvik-7 heart and the first to have it implanted as a temporary bridge to life until a suitable human heart could be found. He received the artificial heart on Aug. 29 and had a human heart transplant nine days later.
Doctors said Drummond would not return immediately to his home in Phoenix. He will stay at an apartment near the hospital so he can receive outpatient checkups. If he is well enough, he may go home within three months.
Drummond suffered a series of minor strokes while connected to the Jarvik unit but has recovered almost completely, Nina Trasoff, a hospital spokeswoman, said.
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