Teenage girl now Ireland's longest survivor with a mechanical heart

A 16-YEAR-OLD Dublin girl who was fitted with a mechanical heart 311 days ago has become the longest-ever survivor on such a device in Ireland.

Kiva Humphries first went into hospital in January of last year when she began having difficulty breathing. Her heart muscles degenerated so much that, in April, she was fitted with a ventricular-assisted device.

Up until today, the longest a person had been on such a device in Ireland was 310 days.

Kiva has been on the heart transplant list since last July, after coming through two strokes and a virulent hospital-related virus that struck after the irreversible operation to fit her mechanical heart. She has been improving since her stroke and has regained some movement on her right side.

“She is in reasonably good form and reasonably steady but time is marching on and the pressure to find a heart is increasing,” her father Joe Humphries said yesterday.

“She is as tough as a boot and she manages herself very well indeed,” he said. While acknowledging that she is in good hands, he is anxious to get her out of hospital. “She is 16 and needs her friends and her freedom,” Mr Humphries said, adding that Kiva has not been able to get out of bed by herself for a year.

Mr Humphries said there has been an increase in transplant activity since the family first spoke publicly almost two months ago.

However, there has been no heart match for Kiva, which “kills him”. He is keeping his “fingers crossed” and said the more donations there were, the better. A heart match requires many variables including blood group, size and tissue type.

Kiva’s parents yesterday began an e-mail campaign urging people take part in a public consultation by the Department of Health on organ donation. They took the initiative because people have been asking them how to respond to the proposals as they are difficult to locate online.

The consultation is taking place in advance of a Bill to regulate removal and use of human tissue and is considering three systems of donation: opt-in, opt-out or mandated. Mr Humphries would like to see the presumed consent (opt-out)option introduced. This system would mean an adult is presumed to be a donor unless he or she specified otherwise. It already operates in some other European countries including Spain, Belgium, Sweden and Austria.

Further information on submissions, which are due by February 28th, can be found at the Department of Health and Children’s website: www.dohc.ie/ consultations/open/ Donation_of_Organs