Baby Macs Thrives with Berlin Heart While Awaiting Transplant

When baby Macs Green suffered two cardiac arrests and doctors told his parents to prepare for the worst, it seemed impossible that he'd ever smile again.

The UK infant was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a disease that leads to heart failure. Lying sedated in Bristol Royal Children's Hospital on life support, Macs appeared to be running out of options.

Then doctors suggested the Berlin Heart, a specialized device that's revolutionizing pediatric cardiology. This ventricular assist device uses air power to mechanically pump blood through the body, taking over the work of a failing heart.

Within days of receiving the device, Macs transformed. "He's smiling, he's responding to us," his father Dylan told reporters. "Before now, he's just been a small baby lying on a bed."

The Berlin Heart has been changing lives since 1990, when the first European patient received one. Today, over 1,500 children and infants have been fitted with the device, which comes in two formats for different types of heart support.

In 2012, a toddler set a record by living with the device for 2.5 years while waiting for a transplant. The technology gives families something precious: time with their children while they wait for a donor heart.

Sunny's Take

What moves us most about Macs' story isn't just the technology. It's watching his mother Catrin describe how it feels to have "our baby back." After watching their third son lie motionless and sedated, Dylan and Catrin can now see him smile and interact with them.

Doctors once asked them to prepare for goodbye. Now they're watching Macs absolutely thrive, growing stronger each day with his mechanical heart pumping steadily. The wait for a transplant may take months or even years, but the Berlin Heart has proven it's up to the challenge.

For now, Macs is doing what babies do best: smiling at his parents, responding to their voices, and simply being present in the moments his family feared they'd never have.