Chinese doctors implant world's smallest artificial heart in 7-year-old boy

WUHAN -- A 7-year-old Chinese boy suffering from end-stage heart failure has become the world's youngest patient to receive a magnetically levitated biventricular assist device, the smallest and lightest artificial heart on the market.

The surgery, conducted earlier this month at Union Hospital affiliated with Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, Central China, marks a breakthrough that could transform pediatric cardiac care globally, doctors said on Tuesday.

The boy, going by the pseudonym Junjun, received the newly developed heart weighing just 45 grams and measuring 2.9 cm in diameter.

He was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy in May 2024 and later suffered severe cardiogenic shock. Finding it difficult to find a donor heart that matched the boy's O blood type, doctors turned to a homegrown artificial heart.

A team led by cardiac surgeon Dong Nianguo performed the five-hour implantation operation. Junjun began breathing on his own the next day, and his heart function is steadily improving, doctors said.

"Thanks to the doctors, our child now has a chance to survive and wait for a transplant," Junjun's father said. "Once his inflammation clears, we'll be able to go home."

Pediatric heart failure remains a global medical challenge. In China, about 40,000 children with severe heart failure are hospitalized each year, with 7 to 10 percent urgently requiring heart transplants. However, fewer than 100 pediatric transplants are performed annually due to a chronic shortage of donor hearts.

Artificial hearts, or ventricular assist devices, can temporarily support cardiac function, but existing models either cause damage to the blood system or are designed primarily for adults.

"Children are not adults with smaller bodies. They need an artificial heart designed specifically for them," Dong said.

The hospital partnered with Shenzhen Core Medical Technology Co., Ltd. in 2021 to develop the third-generation magnetically levitated device, which boasts advantages such as low energy consumption, extended battery life, improved stability for emergency transfers, and precise control of rotational speed, adjustable in real time to meet patients' circulatory needs.

"China has made significant strides in end-stage heart disease treatment, progressing from a follower to a leader in select fields," said Xia Jiahong, president of the hospital.