Donald Shiley

Donald Pearce Shiley (January 19, 1920 – July 31, 2010) was the inventor of the Bjork–Shiley valve, a prosthetic heart valve. He was a 1951 alumnus of the University of Portland, where he studied engineering.

Early life He was born in Yakima, Washington, on January 19, 1920. His family was homesteaders, and followed the fruit harvest;

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.

Personal life Shiley was married twice: to Patricia Carol Dilworth Shiley, the mother of his four children and who died in middle-age;

Death 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, the Shileys 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. Shiley also made a donation to the University of San Diego for the Donald P. Shiley Center for Science and Technology. In 2012, Darlene Marcos Shiley donated $1 million to MASTERPIECE Trust, the PBS fund which supports the "Masterpiece" program series, when the Downton Abbey series brought increased interest in Masterpiece and after the fund had lost a major donor.