Editing Donald Shiley

{{Short description|American engineer}}
{{Infobox person
| image       = Donald_Shiley.jpg
| name        = Donald P. Shiley
| caption     =  
| birth_name  = Donald Pearce Shiley
| birth_date  = January 19, 1920
| birth_place = 
| death_date  = July 31, 2010 (aged 90)
| occupation  = biomedical engineering
| website     = 
| children    =
}}
'''Donald Pearce Shiley''' (January 19, 1920 &ndash; 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.<ref name=Bell2012>{{cite news |last1=Bell|first1=Diane|title=Darlene Shiley puts heart and soul into giving |url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/02/darlene-shiley-puts-heart-and-soul-giving/ |accessdate=June 5, 2014 |newspaper=[[U-T San Diego|San Diego Union Tribune]] |date=April 2, 2012}}</ref> His family was homesteaders, and followed the fruit harvest;<ref name=Bell2012 /> he joined his brothers at harvest time through the years of the Great Depression, but quickly learned that his interest and skill were in “fixing things” on the farm.<ref name=Perry2010 /> He said that “I liked machines. I liked the way they are ideas that get built.“<ref name=Perry2010 />

Shiley attended [[Oregon State University]], the [[Land-grant university]] in Oregon, on a scholarship, but left to join the Navy for service in [[World War II]]. After the war, he enrolled at the [[University of Portland]], a private Roman Catholic institution, using the [[G.I. Bill]] benefits<ref name=Bell2012 /> to study engineering and chemistry. In 1951, he graduated first in his class.<ref name=Perry2010 />

==Career==
Shiley began working at [[Edwards Laboratories]], located in [[Orange County, California]], south of [[Los Angeles]], the first manufacturer of artificial heart-valves.<ref name=Perry2010>{{cite news |last1=Perry |first1=Tony |title=Donald P. Shiley dies at 90; co-inventor of Bjork-Shiley heart valve |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-donald-shiley-20100807-story.html |access-date=June 5, 2014 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=August 7, 2010}}</ref>

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 [[Vertebrate trachea|trachea]]l and endotracheal tubes for respiration after surgery in the mouth or throat, and during [[anesthesia]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}}

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 Pat, the mother of his four children and who died in middle-age;<ref name=Bell2012 /> and to Darlene Marcos.<ref name=Bell2012 />

==Death==
Shiley died on July 31, 2010, after deteriorating health. He is survived by his wife, Darlene Marcos, and four children and five grandchildren<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kucher |first1=Karen |last2=Gustafson |first2=Craig |last3=Robbins |first3=Gary |title=Inventor Donated Millions |url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-inventor-donated-millions-2010aug02-story.html |newspaper=The San Diego Union-Tribune |date=2 August 2010 |page=B-1 |accessdate=7 October 2016}}</ref>

==Legacy==
In March 2007, the Shileys donated [[USD|$]]12 million to the University of Portland, for renovating the University's School of Engineering. The grant was the largest the university had ever received.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stone |first1=Jordan |title=Donald and Darlene Shiley bestow UP with the largest donation in the school’s 105-year history |url=http://upbeacon.com/2007/03/22/12-million/ |accessdate=June 5, 2014 |work=[[The Beacon (University of Portland)|The Beacon]] |date=March 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808054323/http://upbeacon.com/2007/03/22/12-million/ |archive-date=August 8, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Shiley also made a donation to the [[University of San Diego]] for the Donald P. Shiley Center for Science and Technology. In 2012, Darlene Shiley donated [[USD|$]]1 million to MASTERPIECE Trust, the [[Public Broadcasting System|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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jensen|first1=Elizabeth |title=$1 Million Gift to PBS’s ‘Masterpiece’  |url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/1-million-gift-to-pbss-masterpiece/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 |accessdate=June 5, 2014 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 29, 2012}}</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:American engineers]]
[[Category:University of Portland alumni]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:Oregon State University alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]