The Quality Assured Services VAD Program Offers A New Start For Heart Transplant Recipient Aliyah Davis

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics;  Transplants / Organ Donations
Article Date: 20 Nov 2007 - 11:00 PDT

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Two years ago, Aliyah Davis received one of the first ventricular assist devices (VAD) available in Indiana. This miraculous device kept Aliyah healthy enough to leave the hospital and even attend college. Assisting Aliyah in her quest for a new heart, Quality Assured Services, Inc. (QAS), a medical device service provider based in Orlando, Florida, provided her with VAD supplies and replacement parts during her entire stay at home.

Suffering from idiopathic cardiomyopathy, a rare heart-muscle disease, Aliyah's heart did not have the strength to keep pumping enough blood to sustain her life. Her doctors knew the only hope was a new heart. However, the concern was whether her existing heart would last until a suitable transplant donor was found. The answer came in the form of a new medical technology called ventricular assist device, or VAD. This device assists the heart in its pumping action to the point that the patient can be mobile and even leave the hospital while waiting for a transplant donor to be found. The QAS staff is pleased to have had the opportunity to help Aliyah. "We are always concerned about the patient's health, but Aliyah was very special to us," said Terry Johnson, the VAD Systems Director for QAS. "She was our longest-term patient on the VAD and we were so excited to learn of her transplant, it gives purpose to our work."

After two years of waiting, 19 year-old Aliyah was understandably excited about her new heart, saying, "I've got a new lease on life and I am very grateful to the people at QAS for the incredible support I received while at home on the VAD." Her new life now includes a sophomore year at Purdue University and new dreams for the future.

About QAS

QAS is the only company in the US with CMS approval as an IDTF for both outpatient VAD equipment and for INR devices and supplies. QAS works with patients to provide medical devices and testing capabilities in a home setting.

http://www.QualityAssuredServices.com

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