Dr. Richard Wampler Recipient of the Kamal and Narayan Bonde Lifetime Achievement Award in Artificial Organs Development

BEVERLY, MA, UNITED STATES, May 14, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The ASAIO Board of Trustees has named Dr. Richard Wampler as the recipient of the prestigious Kamal and Narayan Bonde Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his transformative contributions to the development of artificial organs. This esteemed honor celebrates Dr. Wampler’s pioneering work in the field of mechanical circulatory support, which has dramatically advanced the treatment of heart failure and other cardiovascular conditions.

Upon receiving the award, Dr. Wampler shared his gratitude, saying, “I am honored and humbled to receive a lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Artificial Internal Organs. I have been blessed with an extraordinary career which began my senior year of medical school in 1974, when I began building a total artificial heart based on a rotary blood pump. This dream beacons me to this day. My colleagues at Nimbus radically changed the trajectory of mechanical circulatory support device technology from pulsatile to rotary continuous flow blood pumps with the successful insertion of the Hemopump by Dr. O.H. Frazier at the Texas Heart Institute in 1988. Direct descendants of the Hemopump, the Heartmate II, the Heartware HVAD, and Heartmate III have been used in over 100,000 patients, including children. We at Nimbus Medical faced strong forces of skepticism and, even disparagement, about a miniature turbine in the heart. Detractors argued that if blood damage didn’t kill patients, pulseless circulation would. Our ignorance was our only defense. It served us well. It has been my privilege and great honor to have been part of transforming the field of mechanical circulatory assistance for the treatment of the mortally ill. I am grateful to have shared the journey with so many dedicated and visionary colleagues.”

As Pramod Bonde, MD, ASAIO Past-President and ASAIO Journal Editor-in-Chief, commented, “Dr. Wampler's remarkable career is a testament to the power of innovation and dedication in the field of artificial organs. His pioneering work in mechanical circulatory support has revolutionized heart failure treatment and saved countless lives. We are proud to honor his legacy and look forward to seeing the continued impact of his contributions on future generations of patients and healthcare professionals.”

ASAIO, formerly known as the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs, has been at the forefront of advancing life-saving technologies for over 70 years. The society’s mission to “save lives one medical device at a time” has played a vital role in fostering innovation in the field of artificial organs, with ASAIO members, like Dr. Wampler, at the helm of these developments.

The presentation of the Kamal and Narayan Bonde Lifetime Achievement Award will take place during the ASAIO 71st Annual Meeting, scheduled for June 4-7, 2025, at the Sheraton New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Wampler is invited to attend the conference and accept this prestigious award in person. The award ceremony will occur on Thursday, June 5th, at 8:45 AM, immediately following the Presidential Address.

For more information about the ASAIO 71st Annual Meeting, please visit https://asaio.org/Conference.

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