ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- All transplant patients are exceptional, but Stan Larkin’s successful heart transplant comes after living more than a year without a human heart and relying on a heart device he carried in a backpack. 
 
 Stan Larkin and brother Dom.jpg Domonique Larkin, left, and his brother Stan Larkin, relied on total artificial hearts before successful heart transplants at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center. 
 
 The first patient in Michigan ever discharged with a SynCardia temporary total artificial heart in 2014, Larkin was back at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center in May for a heart transplant. 
 
 The surgery performed by Jonathan Haft, M.D., was a unique national triumph in efforts to replace the failing heart as heart disease grows and donor hearts remain scarce. 
 
 “It was an emotional rollercoaster,” Larkin, 25, said at a news conference when he described living with the total artificial heart that was implanted to keep him alive until a donor heart became available. 
 
 “I got the transplant two weeks ago and I feel like I could take a jog as we speak. I want to thank the donor who gave themselves for me. I’d like to meet their family one day. Hopefully they’d want to meet me.” 
 
 Stan’s older brother Dominique also relied on a TAH before a heart transplant in 2015. The brothers were diagnosed as teenagers with familial cardiomyopathy, a type of heart failure that can strike seemingly healthy people without warning. 
 
 It's linked to a leading cause of sudden death among athletes called Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). 
 
 “They were both very, very ill when we first met them in our intensive care units," says Haft, associate professor of cardiac surgery. "We wanted to get them heart transplants, but we didn't think we had enough time. There's just something about their unique anatomic situation where other technology wasn't going to work." 
 
 The temporary total artificial heart is used when both sides of the heart fail, and more common heart-supporting devices are not adequate to keep patients alive. 
 
 Rather than stay in the hospital, Larkin used a wearable, 13.5 pound Freedom® portable driver to keep the artificial heart going. 
 
 “He really thrived on the device,” Haft said looking at a photo of Stan on a basketball court. “This wasn’t made for pick-up basketball,” he joked. 
 
 “Stan pushed the envelope with this technology.” 
 
 As Haft teaches at the University of Michigan Medical School, the brothers have joined him to discuss the impact of advanced circulatory support for those with end-stage heart failure. 
 
 “You’re heroes to all of us,” says David J. Pinsky, M.D., a director of the U-M Frankel Cardiovascular Center. “The fact that you take your story public and allow us to teach others makes a difference. You’ll make a difference for a lot of patients. You’ll make a difference to the doctors of the future. We thank you for allowing us to share your story and your bravery in sharing it.” ||||| ANN ARBOR, MI - Stan Larkin is looking forward to his upcoming trip to Michigan's Adventure for his daughter's birthday. He's looking forward to taking a shower. He's looking forward to getting back on the basketball court. 
 
 Most of all, he's looking forward to being able to hold his three children again. 
 
 "They're going to attack me," he joked. "They can't wait. They're going to be on the front, the back, my neck. They're going to be jumping all over me." 
 
 He's looking forward to doing all of those things when he leaves the University of Michigan Hospital in a few days - this time with a real human heart. 
 
 The 25-year-old Larkin, of Ypsilanti, had been carrying a 13.5-pound Freedom portable driver in a backpack with him 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the past 16 months. 
 
 The backpack - a Total Artificial Heart and driver that pumps blood -- is what kept him alive for 555 days until receiving a heart transplant on May 9. 
 
 
 
 Stan received his pneumatic Total Artificial Heart on Nov. 7, 2014, making history as U-M Hospital's first Total Artificial Heart patient to be discharged using the device. Doctors at U-M also said he was the first patient in the Midwest to be discharged on the Freedom driver. 
 
 It is the same device his younger brother, Domonique, depended on to survive after being diagnosed with the inherited heart condition arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, or ARVD. 
 
 More than a year and a half after walking out of U-M Hospital without a heart, Stan will leave the same hospital with a real one all his own. 
 
 "It's really just getting back to an old feeling - the backpack was the new feeling," he said. 
 
 "I'm ready to go to Michigan's Adventure to celebrate my daughter's birthday in July," he added. "I think I'm going to have more fun than she is." 
 
 Related: Brothers without hearts: Man makes history at U-M Hospital as first patient discharged with Total Artificial Heart 
 
 
 
 After 2 months without a heart, Ypsilanti man gets transplant while brother awaits his 
 
 His story has captivated people across the globe since it was originally published by The Ann Arbor News a year and a half ago. 
 
 On May 26, Stan reunited with his cardiac surgeon Dr. Jonathan Haft to speek at U-M's Frankel Cardiovascular Center Danto Auditorium, to provide an update on his progress, along with U-M Center for Circulatory Support medical director Dr. Keith Aaronson and U-M Transplant Program chief of transplant surgery Dr. John Magee. The afternoon was filled with plenty of well-earned laughs for Stan and all of his family, after a long road of uncertainty. 
 
 Heart problems 
 
 During a game of basketball more than nine years ago, when he was just 16, Stan suddenly blacked out and collapsed. It was the first fainting spell he ever experienced, but it was enough for doctors to run a series of tests on his heart. 
 
 He was diagnosed with ARVD, a disease that causes irregular heart rhythms and one doctors at Johns Hopkins Medicine say is a leading cause of sudden death among young athletes. 
 
 After it was discovered that Stan had ARVD in 2007, doctors urged everyone in his immediate family to get tested for the disease. Because the condition is hereditary, doctors believed that one of Stan's siblings or parents could also be a carrier of the trait and it would only be a matter of time before that person would also need medical attention. 
 
 
 
 Domonique Larkin - younger than Stan by just 358 days - also was diagnosed with ARVD just weeks after Stan's diagnosis, and he also had to get a defibrillator implanted. 
 
 More than a year after his own heart transplant, Domonique is looking forward to continuing the unique bond he shared with his brother without the restrictions they've had being while hooked up to the Freedom portable driver, or as they refer to it, "the backpack." 
 
 "That's what I've been waiting on, was him," Domonique said. "It's just about having freedom and being able to move without worrying. Not just the freedom of having people always around you, but being able to move around." 
 
 Doctors didn't know how strong Stan's heart was back then, so they gave him a defibrillator, which would administer electric shocks to his heart to correct the abnormal beating. 
 
 In April 2012, things began to go downhill. Stan's body began retaining fluids at an alarming rate, and doctors said he would eventually need a heart transplant in order to live. 
 
 His ARVD had progressed into bi-ventricular dysplasia, meaning that neither of his heart's two large chambers that collect and pump blood to his lungs and body weren't functioning properly. 
 
 Having one of the most common blood types, O-positive, Stan was behind hundreds of people on the donor list for a new heart. Doctors sought out a temporary option for Stan and chose to outfit him with a Total Artificial Heart. 
 
 Artificial heartbeats 
 
 Stan was admitted to the University of Michigan Hospital on Oct. 11, 2014, so doctors could run a series of physiological tests to make sure he was qualified as a candidate for the Total Artificial Heart. 
 
 Doctors discovered that Stan's heart was too weak to properly function inside of his body. Less than a month later, he received his pneumatic Total Artificial Heart. Haft said that this particular device was the best way to provide support for someone like Stan who has severe failure in both sides of the heart, with the goal of bridging the patient to heart transplantation. 
 
 
 
 "They were both very, very ill when we first met them in our intensive care units," Haft said. "We wanted to get them heart transplants, but we didn't think we had enough time. There's just something about their unique anatomic situation where other technology wasn't going to work." 
 
 Like his older brother, Domonique's heart began to weaken over time, and he also had to get a Total Artificial Heart on Dec. 11, 2014. 
 
 With the Total Artificial Heart, there are two tubes that exit the body, and those two tubes have to be connected to a machine that can deliver compressed air into the ventricles to to pump blood through the body. The compressor is powered by an electronic system, which controls the movement of air in and out through those tubes into the device. 
 
 In Stan's case, his tubes were connected to a compressor called Big Blue: a 418-pound machine with very limited mobility. 
 
 Stan was discharged from U-M Hospital on Dec. 23, 2014, after doctors approved him for the Freedom portable driver. The device performed the same functions as Big Blue, with the exception of its portability. The Freedom driver was approved by the FDA earlier that year, making Stan one of its first successful users in the Midwest. 
 
 The Freedom driver works with the Total Artificial Heart by using a portable power source that comes with two on-board batteries, which are backed up by an internal backup source. In addition to the Freedom driver, Stan also utilized two back-up drivers and six batteries in case of a malfunction. 
 
 While the brothers awaited their transplants, the Freedom driver provided them with virtually unlimited mobility, with the exception of a few limitations. 
 
 Haft said Stan made good use of the Freedom driver, although his active lifestyle often tested the limits of the device. 
 
 "He just really thrived on the device," Haft said. "I think the Freedom driver had to be exchanged about 10 times when he was at home because this thing wasn't built for pickup basketball. He really pushed the envelope." 
 
 Domonique followed the same path as his big brother, first having his heart removed and using Big Blue to stay alive from December to January 2015, then switching to a smaller version of Big Blue called the Companion 2 on Jan. 2. 
 
 Ultimately, Domonique was switched over to the Total Artificial Heart and the Freedom driver on Jan. 18, 2015, before receiving his heart transplant on Jan. 22, 2015. 
 
 Sixteen months later, his brother ended their shared nine-year journey, receiving a heart of his own. 
 
 
 
 Domonique said the transplant has changed his life, giving him a new sense of purpose that he had been without since the brothers' diagnosis in 2007. 
 
 "It's been wonderful," Domonique said. "It's been like having a new life. You can do everything you weren't able to do and everything you thought you would probably never be able to do again. You can live without the restrictions you had when you were sick and not have to worry about every little thing." 
 
 Giving the Larkins another chance to be active and have new purpose in their lives is what transplantation is all about, Magee said. 
 
 "It really shows you what we're striving to accomplish with transplantation - giving people their entire lives back and letting them live happy lives as well as contribute meaningfully," he said. "That's the truly touching part about transplants." 
 
 Stan is now looking forward to the same future as his brother, filled with physical activity, without the restraints of the Freedom driver - even if it has kept him alive. Although he won't be able to find out who his donor was 
 
 He knows he'll need to take it easy for a while, but he's eager to test out his new device - his new heart. 
 
 "I'll probably run a few pick-up games, but not right away," he joked. "I haven't taken a shot yet without the backpack hooked up. I just want to put the heart to use." 
 
 Martin Slagter covers higher education for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at mslagter@mlive.com or on Twitter. ||||| A 25-year-old has just received a full heart transplant... but not before surviving for more than a year without a human heart inside his body. 
 
 Instead, Stan Larkin wore an 'artificial heart' in a backpack 24/7 for 555 days, which pumped blood around his body and kept him alive. The success of the procedure suggests that the device could be used to sustain other patients with total heart failure while they're waiting for a donor. 
 
 Back in 2014, Stan became the first patient in Michigan to be discharged with the artificial heart device, which is known as a 'Syncardia'. 
 
 He and his brother Dominique had both been diagnosed as teenagers with familial cardiomyopathy, which is a genetic heart condition that can cause heart failure without any warning - it's one of the leading causes of death in athletes. 
 
 After years on the donor waiting list, Stan - and eventually his younger brother Dominique - had their hearts removed and were fitted with the Syncardia device. 
 
 "They were both very, very ill when we first met them in our intensive care units," said the surgeon behind the transplant, Jonathan Haft, from the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Centre. "We wanted to get them heart transplants, but we didn't think we had enough time. There's just something about their unique anatomic situation where other technology wasn't going to work." 
 
 While other devices such as implantable defibrillators can help with partial heart failure, Syncardia is used when both sides of the heart fail. 
 
 Dominique only needed to use the technology for a few weeks before receiving a full heart transplant. But Stan had to wait more than a year, and instead of staying in hospital, he was fitted with the Freedom® portable driver so he could go home in the meantime. 
 
 At the time, no one knew how much he'd be able to do with it. The portable device comes in the form of a 6-kg (13.5 pound) backpack that's connected to the patient's vascular system, to keep oxygenated blood pumping around the body. 
 
 It's not the most versatile thing to have on you 24/7, and Stan reported not being able to hold his daughters or give them piggy back rides. But he did manage to continue playing basketball - a total surprise to his doctors. 
 
 "This wasn't made for pick-up basketball," said Haft. "Stan pushed the envelope with this technology ... He really thrived on the device." 
 
 Stan received his donor heart on 9 May 2016, and has now fully recovered from the procedure. He's shared his story, which he calls an "emotional rollercoaster" with the press to raise awareness about the 5.7 million other Americans living with heart failure, and the need for heart donors. 
 
 "You're heroes to all of us," David J. Pinsky, director of the Frankel Cardiovascular Centre, said of Stan and Dominique. "The fact that you take your story public and allow us to teach others makes a difference. You'll make a difference for a lot of patients. You'll make a difference to the doctors of the future. We thank you for allowing us to share your story and your bravery in sharing it." ||||| Enlarge Image University of Michigan Health System 
 
 Getting an organ transplant isn't simple. There simply aren't enough organs available to accommodate everyone who needs one. In the US alone, there are over 121,000 people on the organ transplant waiting list, and an average of 22 people die every day due to lack of available transplant organs. 
 
 For heart patients, an amazing new technology has just been proven able to keep patients alive until that crucial organ becomes available. Stan Larkin, now 25, has just received a heart transplant after living for 17 months on an external total artificial heart. 
 
 Larkin and his older brother had been diagnosed when they were teens with familial cardiomyopathy, a condition that slowly causes heart failure. In December 2014, Larkin's failing heart was removed, and he became the first patient in Michigan to be fitted with the SynCardia Freedom Portable Driver, a 13.5-pound machine that uses compressed air to take over the heart's job of pumping blood through the body. 
 
 This machine is designed for use in the case of total heart failure, where the devices designed to assist in partial failure are no longer viable. It needs to be carried around in a backpack. Larkin's older brother also relied on a total artificial heart, but he received his after Larkin and was able to receive a heart transplant in 2015. 
 
 "They were both very, very ill when we first met them in our intensive care units," said Jonathan Haft, University of Michigan associate professor of cardiac surgery, and the surgeon who performed both procedures on Larkin. "We wanted to get them heart transplants, but we didn't think we had enough time. There's just something about their unique anatomic situation where other technology wasn't going to work. 
 
 Larkin finally received his heart transplant in May 2016. 
 
 "It was an emotional rollercoaster," he said at a news conference. "I got the transplant two weeks ago and I feel like I could take a jog as we speak. I want to thank the donor who gave themselves for me. I'd like to meet their family one day. Hopefully they'd want to meet me."
– Twenty-two people die every day because there aren't enough organs available for transplants, CNET reports. Stan Larkin wasn't one of them. Instead, the 25-year-old Michigan father of three spent 555 days without a heart, according to Michigan Live. And it didn't even keep him off the basketball court. Larkin was diagnosed with familial cardiomyopathy after collapsing while playing basketball when he was 16. In December 2014, doctors removed his failing heart. There were hundreds of people ahead of Larkin on the donor list, so that same month he became the first Michigan resident to be outfitted with the SynCardia Freedom Portable Driver—a 14-pound backpack that uses compressed air to move blood through the body. Before Larkin, no one really knew what the Freedom Portable Driver was capable of, Science Alert reports. He showed them. “He really thrived on the device,” Larkin's doctor says in a press release. “This wasn’t made for pick-up basketball. Stan pushed the envelope with this technology.” In fact, Larkin kept so active he had to replace the device 10 or so times. One thing he couldn't do, however, was give piggyback rides to his daughters. Larkin got his new human heart in May, and he says his daughters couldn't wait. “They're going to be on the front, the back, my neck," he tells Michigan Live. "They're going to be jumping all over me." (A dad filmed the moment his teen son realized he survived a heart transplant.)