Schroeder Has Good Chance to Return Home, Doctor Says

William J. Schroeder, the longest-living recipient of an artificial heart, has a “good opportunity” to return to his Indiana home, surgeon William C. DeVries said Thursday.

DeVries told the Assn. of Clinical Scientists that he could not morally or ethically continue his artificial heart research if the plastic heart left his patients bedridden.

But, DeVries said, Schroeder’s 10 months with his artificial heart have allowed him to celebrate Christmas, New Year’s, his son’s wedding and the birth of several grandchildren. And, DeVries said, the 53-year-old Schroeder now “has a good opportunity to go back home.”