Artificial heart keeps boy alive for record 251 days

Source: bbc.co.uk - 

A three-year-old boy has been kept alive with an artificial heart for more than eight months, which doctors say is a record for a child in the UK.

Joe Skerratt from Gillingham, Kent, was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, which meant his heart struggled to pump blood around his body.

He was temporarily fitted with a "Berlin heart", to give his own a helping hand.

After 251 days, he finally had a heart transplant last year.

Joe's mother, Rachel, said "we started to see his character coming back" after he was fitted with the Berlin heart. But this was the start of a long wait for a heart donor.

"When Joe passed the 200-day mark on the Berlin heart we started to really question what else could be done if a heart wasn't found, but we knew deep down there wouldn't be much," she said.

"On day 251 the call we had been waiting for came. We were offered a heart for Joe. The call came early in the morning and time seemed to stand still before he was taken down to theatre."

To read more visit >> bbc.co.uk

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