Narrative:

Prior to departure the number one flight attendant informed me that she had a passenger who requested to put her carryon in the first class closet and insisted that it could not go in the overhead and must go in the closet. The passenger then went on to tell the flight attendant that it contained medical equipment and that her husband who she was traveling with had a heart blood pump to pump his blood should his heart stop. She gave the flight attendant the attached letter from his physician. The flight attendant was very concerned about this passenger and brought the letter to me. After reading the letter; I approached the lead agent and asked if they had any further information on this equipment. They did not and could not access any information as to whether it was approved for carriage onboard company aircraft and they called a customer service manager (csm). I had never heard of this device and accessed the referenced advisory circular. I found out that there may be more than one type of battery used to power this pump and one type needed to [have a] technical service order. I also found out that the passenger had seven such batteries with him. I was unable to ascertain if the batteries were safe and approved to carry. The csm called the duty csm who could find no information about the batteries. The csm got a diagram of the equipment and showed me how it pumped the passenger's blood. He then called medlink; who could tell me the passenger was okay medically to fly but knew nothing of the batteries and equipment and whether they could fly on our aircraft. He tried everything he could think of but could not get the needed information. I contacted the dispatch chief on duty and let him know of the situation. He indicated that he would research the batteries in an effort to ascertain if they were approved for us to carry. I spoke with the passenger; saw the contents of the carryon; which was just too heavy for the passenger to lift up to; place in the overhead and examined the batteries. I gave the size; type; volts; etc. To the dispatch chief. He assured me that he was giving the situation his full attention and would get back to me.time is passing and one of the passengers began acting out. Although I was trying to keep the passengers up to date; I unfortunately could give them nothing concrete as to the reason and length of the delay. I asked the csm if there was another flight after ours and if the two passengers with the medical equipment could be accommodated on the next flight; [thus] allowing dispatch more time to research the batteries and heart pump. He went to handle the unruly passenger who was going down the aisle stirring up the other passengers; cornering one of the flight attendants in the aft of the aircraft and harassing the number one flight attendant for letting the cockpit jump-seater put his crew roll-aboard bag in the overhead when hers was taken away before boarding.the unruly passenger was removed and the csm assured me the passengers with the heart pump would be accommodated on the next flight allowing us to leave and giving dispatch more time to make a determination. The passengers in question were okay with that. The advisory circular (attached) did not reference the rtca/do-160E stipulated in the letter. The AC referenced rtca/do-160D. Is that the same? I still had no information about carrying the seven batteries. I believe at this point; they were lithium ion. Flight manual has battery guidance but I still could not determine the amount of lithium in each battery.the passengers with the seven batteries and heart pump; I learned later were accommodated on the next flight; batteries were found to be acceptable for carriage. I was delayed trying to get that information. It is not my intention to deny anyone boarding. I just could not determine on my own with the references I had if we could carry the equipment and seven batteries. Apparently; that information was not readily available. I am sure new medical equipment will continue to be presented for carriage. Please publish information about this heart pump and batteries so the next crew encountering it will be able to research it quicker and easier. There was no information about equipment and batteries carried aboard by passengers. Please have information regarding this device and batteries available to crew.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Captain reported not being able to find guidance information regarding a passenger's portable Heart Pump device batteries.

Narrative: Prior to departure the number one flight attendant informed me that she had a passenger who requested to put her carryon in the first class closet and insisted that it could not go in the overhead and must go in the closet. The passenger then went on to tell the flight attendant that it contained medical equipment and that her husband who she was traveling with had a heart blood pump to pump his blood should his heart stop. She gave the flight attendant the attached letter from his physician. The flight attendant was very concerned about this passenger and brought the letter to me. After reading the letter; I approached the lead agent and asked if they had any further information on this equipment. They did not and could not access any information as to whether it was approved for carriage onboard Company aircraft and they called a Customer Service Manager (CSM). I had never heard of this device and accessed the referenced advisory circular. I found out that there may be more than one type of battery used to power this pump and one type needed to [have a] Technical Service Order. I also found out that the passenger had seven such batteries with him. I was unable to ascertain if the batteries were safe and approved to carry. The CSM called the duty CSM who could find no information about the batteries. The CSM got a diagram of the equipment and showed me how it pumped the passenger's blood. He then called Medlink; who could tell me the passenger was okay medically to fly but knew nothing of the batteries and equipment and whether they could fly on our aircraft. He tried everything he could think of but could not get the needed information. I contacted the Dispatch chief on duty and let him know of the situation. He indicated that he would research the batteries in an effort to ascertain if they were approved for us to carry. I spoke with the passenger; saw the contents of the carryon; which was just too heavy for the passenger to lift up to; place in the overhead and examined the batteries. I gave the size; type; volts; etc. to the Dispatch chief. He assured me that he was giving the situation his full attention and would get back to me.Time is passing and one of the passengers began acting out. Although I was trying to keep the passengers up to date; I unfortunately could give them nothing concrete as to the reason and length of the delay. I asked the CSM if there was another flight after ours and if the two passengers with the medical equipment could be accommodated on the next flight; [thus] allowing Dispatch more time to research the batteries and heart pump. He went to handle the unruly passenger who was going down the aisle stirring up the other passengers; cornering one of the flight attendants in the aft of the aircraft and harassing the number one flight attendant for letting the cockpit jump-seater put his crew roll-aboard bag in the overhead when hers was taken away before boarding.The unruly passenger was removed and the CSM assured me the passengers with the heart pump would be accommodated on the next flight allowing us to leave and giving Dispatch more time to make a determination. The passengers in question were okay with that. The advisory circular (attached) did not reference the RTCA/DO-160E stipulated in the letter. The AC referenced RTCA/DO-160D. Is that the same? I still had no information about carrying the seven batteries. I believe at this point; they were lithium ion. Flight Manual has battery guidance but I still could not determine the amount of lithium in each battery.The passengers with the seven batteries and heart pump; I learned later were accommodated on the next flight; batteries were found to be acceptable for carriage. I was delayed trying to get that information. It is not my intention to deny anyone boarding. I just could not determine on my own with the references I had if we could carry the equipment and seven batteries. Apparently; that information was not readily available. I am sure new medical equipment will continue to be presented for carriage. Please publish information about this heart pump and batteries so the next crew encountering it will be able to research it quicker and easier. There was no information about equipment and batteries carried aboard by passengers. Please have information regarding this device and batteries available to crew.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.