A Heart And Soul Transplant?

by Nicole

Today there are two different stories in the press concerning heart transplant recipients who took on some of the personality traits of their organ donors. Apparently the phenomenon is not uncommon, with about 70 such cases documented by scientists.

In the most recently reported case, a Georgia man named Sonny Graham received the heart of a 33 year old man named Terry Cottle who had committed suicide by putting a gun to his head. Wanting to thank the family of the donor, Sonny got in touch with Terry 's widow Cheryl. When they met, despite a very large age gap (Sonny was thirty years older than Cheryl), the two felt an instant attraction, and subsequently married in 2004. "I felt like I had known her for years," said Sonny. "I couldn't keep my eyes off her. I just stared."

Sadly, last week, in a bizarre turn of events, Sonny was found dead with a single bullet to the throat. With no foul play suspected, it appears that Sonny had used the same suicide method as the first owner of his heart to tragically end his life.

The second similar case, which was reported by The Daily Mail, has a less gruesome ending. Claire Sylvia, a former professional dancer from Massachusetts, had a heart and lung transplant in 1988 at the age of 47. While recovering from surgery she discovered she had developed entirely new cravings for very un-dancer-like consumables such as Snickers bars, green peppers, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and beer. "For some bizarre reason, I was convinced that nothing else in the world could quench my thirst," recalls Claire.

She noticed other physical and emotional changes too. She was much healthier, easily fighting off the colds to which she would have previously succumbed. She found she was becoming more independent, assertive and aggressive, and even began to walk with a more confident, and masculine, swagger. After dreaming of a man called "Tim L." one night, she searched through obituaries in old newspapers on file at a local library, and eventually saw one for a man named Tim Leighton, who matched the vague donor description she'd been given of an 18-year old male who died in a motorcycle accident. Like Sonny, Claire wanted to contact her donor's family to thank them. After tracking them down, a meeting was arranged, during which the family confirmed that Tim had shared Claire's new-found robust constitution and cravings.

Such stories certainly leave us thinking about the nature of our soul and where it resides. Those that would like to read more on the subject might like to read Claire's book A Change of Heart, which was first published in 1997 and is available via Amazon.com.

| 04/10/08 | Book Club