There are many irrefutable accounts of heart transplant recipients acquiring the memories and traits of their donors. Reports suggest that heart transplant recipients have hesitated to share their cases as their stories do not fit the mainstream worldview of human potential and nature. The same applies to their friends and families and more so with surgeons and health providers. In all the cases below, recipients did not have prior information of their donors as such information is kept confidential.

Acquiring new tastes and meeting donor in her dream

A few days after the transplant Claire Sylvia gave an interview. When asked what she would like to do she replied that she would like to have a beer. Her reply surprised her as she was not keen on beer. With time she developed cravings for green peppers and KFC nuggets. She later began to have recurring dreams about a man with the name Tim L. who she felt was the hear donor. She searched the obituaries and was able to identify Tim and eventually meet his family which confirmed that he was the donor and loved beer, green peppers and nuggets (1)

Recipient develops unusual musical tastes

A 47 year-old foundry worker after receiving the heart of a black teenager killed in a drive-by shooting developed a love for classical music. Being biased the worker did not think much of it as he expected that a black teen would only listen to rap music. Later on he discovered that the teenager was a violinist and was found dead holding his violin(2).

Recipient recounts the murder of her donor

An eight year-old girl who received the heart of a murdered ten year-old girl, began having recurring dreams of an actual murder. The girl was taken to a psychiatrist which concluded that the girl was recounting a real incident. After contacting the police they were able to provide clues (time, weapon, place, clothes worn by murderer and what the little girl said to him) that lead to the convinction of the murderer of the eight year old girl (2).

A change in sexual preferences

In this case the donor was a 19 year-old woman killed in a car accident. The recipient was a 29 year-old gay woman diagnosed with a heart problem.

The donor woman was health conscious, vegetarian and enjoyed having relationships with men. After the operation and for some time the heart recipient could feel the accident every night on her chest. Her doctors did not give her a medical explanation on why this would happen. Also the donor stopped eating meat and junk food and although previously gay she became attracted to men; changed into a feminine woman and got married declaring that she stopped finding women sexually attractive (3).

Donor had visions of her recipient before his death

The donor was an 18-year-old boy killed in a car accident. The recipient was an 18-year-old girl diagnosed with endocarditis and subsequent heart failure.

The donor liked to write poetry. A year after his death, the parents decide to clean-up the room and find a collection of poems. Among them there was a poem that spoke of him seeing his own sudden death. The parent went on to discover lyrics of a song the deceased son had written titled “Danny, My Heart Is Yours”. The song described how he felt about being destined to die and give his heart to someone. Furthermore, he had decided to donate his organs at age 12.

After the transplant, the recipient felt more energy. It was verified that her name was “Danny”. She was drawn towards playing music (picking the guitar; the instrument played by the donor boy) and singing. When she wrote her first song, she sang about her new heart as her lover’s heart. She believed that the donor was her lover from a previous life that had come to save her life. (4)

Receiving traits and fears from the donor

The donor was a three-year-old girl who drowned in the pool at the mother’s boyfriend house while under the supervision of a babysitter. The girl’s mother had gone through an ugly divorce and the father never attempted to see his daughter after the separation. After the accident, the mother and father felt guilty for not spending time with their daughter.

The recipient, a nine-year-old boy who had no idea who the donor was reporter of receiving information from a girl who was sad and afraid and wished that parents would not abandon and neglect their children. The recipient’s mother reported that her son had become very afraid of water and would not talk about it. (5)

What lies behind this phenomena ?

In a nutshell, the theory behind this phenomena is that memory is accessible or processed through the cells and since the heart possesses cells similar to the brain and it has been proven that the heart sends information to the brain it may be possible that information about memories and traits may be transferred to the recipients brain. Therefore, in the cases described above heart transplant recipients receive information through the donor’s heart after it has become part of their body both consciously and subconsciously.

It is also worth noting that there have also been similar cases reported with transplants of other organs. According to Pearsal, kidney, liver and other organ recipients also indicated changes in sense of smell, food preference and emotional factors but these phenomena were usually temporary and could be associated with medication and and other factors of transplantation.(6)

The documentary that follows includes interviews with recipients and medical professionals explaining the phenomena and its implications on how we perceive the heart’s purpose as an organ (something more than just a pump) and its relationship with our brains.

Sources

1. Sylvia, Claire. A Change of heart: a memoir. New York; Warner Books, 1997.

2. Pearsall, Paul. The Heart’s code: tapping the wisdom and power of our heart energy. New York; Broadway Books, 1999.

3. Pearsall, Paul, et al. “Organ transplants and cellular memories ”Nexus Magazine April/May 2005;12:3 <http://www.paulpearsall.com/info/press/3.html>

4. http://www.paulpearsall.com/info/press/3.html

5. Bunzel, B., et al. Does changing the heart mean changing personality? A retrospective inquiry on 47 heart transplant patients.Quality of Life Research 1992; Vol. 1: 251-6.

6. Pearsall P. The Heart’s Code. New York, NY: Broadway Books, 1998.