Seattle dentist Barney Clark became a household name in 1982 as the first patient to receive the Jarvik-7, the world's first artificial heart. Clark lived 112 days more, because of the polyurethane-and-metal pump. Five patients in all received the permanent implant; all died in less than two years. But the device helped buy time for 150 patients who relied on an implant until a heart transplant was possible. Last week the Food and Drug Administration stunned medical researchers by recalling the Jarvik heart, which is made by Symbion, a Tempe, Ariz., company.
Citing "serious deficiencies" in manufacturing quality, training and other...
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