Systems and methods for manufacturing prosthetic heart valves using a single-piece valve subassembly

A heart valve prosthesis comprising:

• a tubular valve subassembly formed from a single-piece of valve material, the single-piece of valve material defining two or more valve leaflets and a valve skirt;
• and
• a tubular frame,
• wherein the tubular valve assembly is secured within an interior of the tubular frame.

A system for forming a heart valve prosthesis, the system comprising:

• a cutting apparatus configured to cut a flat sheet of a valve material into a single-piece valve pattern having two or more valve leaflet regions and a valve skirt region;
• a molding apparatus configured to form a leaflet belly for each of the two or more valve leaflet regions, wherein the molding apparatus comprises at least two mating recesses and projections that form the valve material into a shape of the leaflet belly;
• and
• a folding apparatus configured to hold folds in the flat sheet of the valve material in each of the two or more valve leaflet regions while the cutting apparatus cuts the flat sheet of the valve material.