Press Release:

Total Artificial Heart patient Chuck Besen, his fiancée Jennifer (right) and their 13-month-old son Dylan visit with “Snickers” the pony and handler Nancie Roahrig (center) at University Medical Center.

TUCSON, Ariz. – May 6, 2009 – On April 9, 45-year-old Chuck Besen was discharged from University Medical Center (UMC) after making medical history. He is only the third person in the world to receive a donor heart and then a kidney transplant on the same day after living with the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart.

On March 27, after 156 days on the Total Artificial Heart, Besen received a matching donor heart. An hour after the heart transplant, Besen’s surgeon was surprised to see him sitting up in his ICU bed writing notes to his fiancée Jennifer Hokanson. Six hours later, Besen underwent a second transplant surgery, this time for a kidney.

“To the best of my knowledge, I think there are only two other people who have had the same operations,” said Dr. Jack Copeland, Besen’s heart surgeon. “I would say, by definition, he is a pioneer.”

Besen’s discharge from the hospital after the dual transplants came just in time for him and his fiancée to celebrate their first Easter with their 13-month-old son Dylan at home.

“I had a nice little comfortable life planned out. But it wasn’t rewarding like my life’s going to be now,” said Besen. “Now my life’s going to have true meaning to it.”

In October 2008, Besen had been sent to a Las Vegas hospital to undergo an aortic valve replacement. However, after the valve was replaced, his heart wouldn’t start beating again. Since a donor heart wasn’t immediately available, Besen was flown by air ambulance to the nearest Total Artificial Heart certified hospital, his only chance at survival.

By the time Besen received the Total Artificial Heart, his kidneys had already failed due to low blood flow. He was placed on the waiting list for both a heart and a kidney.

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About the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart
SynCardia Systems, Inc. (Tucson, AZ) is the privately-held manufacturer of the world's first and only FDA, Health Canada and CE approved Total Artificial Heart. Originally used as a permanent replacement heart, SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart is currently approved as a bridge to transplant for people dying from end-stage biventricular heart failure. There have been more than 1,000 implants of the Total Artificial Heart, accounting for more than 250 patient years of life.

Similar to a heart transplant, SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart replaces both failing heart ventricles and the four heart valves, eliminating the symptoms and source of end-stage biventricular failure. Unlike a donor heart, the Total Artificial Heart is immediately available at SynCardia Certified Centers and does not require expensive anti-rejection medication, which can cause subsequent complications. It is the only device that provides immediate, safe blood flow of up to 9.5 liters per minute through both ventricles. This high volume of safe blood flow helps speed the recovery of vital organs, helping make the patient a better transplant candidate.

SynCardia Ranked #20 Among World's 50 Most Innovative Companies
In March 2011, Fast Company magazine ranked SynCardia #20 in its annual list of the "World's 50 Most Innovative Companies" for "giving mobility to artificial heart recipients." Weighing 13.5 pounds, SynCardia's Freedom® portable driver is the world's first wearable driver designed to power the Total Artificial Heart both inside and outside the hospital. The Freedom driver is CE approved for use in Europe and undergoing an FDA-approved Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical study in the U.S.

For additional information, please visit: http://www.syncardia.com
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Media Contact:
Don Isaacs
Vice President of Communications
SynCardia Systems, Inc.
Cell: (520) 955-0660