Hero Barney Clarke

Sixty-one-year-old retired Seattle dentist Dr. Barney Clarke in 1982 volunteered to be the test case for the implantation of an artificial heart.

Clarke had developed an unusual infection that weakened his heart muscle and blood flow. He was advised that he faced certain and imminent death and agreed to allow thoracic surgeon Dr. William DeVries of the University of Utah Medical Center and mecical inventor Dr. Robert Jarvik to implant the latter's Jarvik-7 heart in his chest.

This first version of the artificial heart required that tubes would have to be inserted into the patient's chest, where they would remain, his heartbeat powered by a compressor. The device, made of plastic and aluminum, was designed to take the place of the two lower heart ventricles.

The pioneering operation extended Clarke's life for 112 days, but he died following recurrent infections and several strokes.

Clarke's brave act gave medical science a start in developing a workable artificial heart and in performing other organ replacements. His operation received heavy media coverage, and his name became well known around the world.