Name Donald Shiley | Role Engineer Education University of Portland | |
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Full Name Donald Pearce Shiley Died July 31, 2010, San Diego, California, United States | ||
Occupation biomedical engineering | ||
Donald Shiley, University of Portland Class of '51
Donald Pearce Shiley (January 19, 1920 – July 31, 2010) was one of the co-inventors of the Bjork–Shiley valve, a prosthetic heart valve. He was a 1951 alumnus of the University of Portland, where he studied engineering.
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Life
He was born in Yakima, Washington. Shiley began working at Edwards Laboratories, located in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, the first manufacturer of artificial heart-valves.
Later he established his own company, Shiley Laboratories, in the same area. His first valve was developed together with the American heart-surgeon Kay, and was the first disc heart-valve. Compared with the Edwards valve, which had the shape of a little ball, the disc valve needed much less space within the heart when implanted.
Some years later, Shiley improved his design in cooperation with Swedish heart surgeon Viking Björk, which led to the first tilting disc heart-valve, resulting in a much better flow of blood through the valve.
Shiley Labs developed and manufactured other products, especially tracheal and endotracheal tubes for respiration after surgery in the mouth or throat, and during anesthesia.
The Björk–Shiley heart valve underwent several improvements in the following years, primarily in the degree of opening of the disc, thus reducing turbulence in the bloodstream.
Some years later, Shiley decided to sell his company to Pfizer, and retired.
Shiley was married twice: to Pat, who died in middle-age, and to Darlene, who survived him.
Death
Donald Shiley died on July 31, 2010, after deteriorating health. He is survived by his wife, Darlene Marcos, and four children and five grandchildren
Legacy
In March 2007, Shiley and Darlene donated $12 million to the University of Portland, for renovating the University's School of Engineering. The grant was the largest the university had ever received. In 2012, Darlene Shiley donated $1 million to MASTERPIECE Trust, the PBS fund which supports the "MASTERPIECE" program series.