However, the demand for donor hearts always exceeded availability, and thousands died every year while waiting for healthy hearts to become available. In the late 1960s, hope was given to patients with irreparably damaged hearts when heart-transplant operations began. After a few hours, however, blood becomes damaged by the pumping and oxygenation. In this procedure, which is still used today, the machine temporarily takes over heart and lung function, allowing doctors to operate extensively on these organs.

In 1953, an artificial heart-lung machine was employed successfully for the first time during an operation on a human patient. In the late 19th century, scientists began developing a pump to temporarily supplant heart action. The 61-year-old dentist spent the last four months of his life in a hospital bed at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City, attached to a 350-pound console that pumped air in and out of the aluminum-and-plastic implant through a system of hoses. On March 23, 1983, Barney Clark dies 112 days after becoming the world’s first recipient of a permanent artificial heart. The website contains a good article and tells us: There are numerous websites that highlight Dr. A plaque resides at the court's entrance which readsL

Located in Washington Memorial Park is a mausoleum dedicated to Dr.

Barney clark