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Claire Sylvia was an accomplished dancer until, at the age of 45, she was diagnosed with a rare and incurable disease known as primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH). The disease involves high blood pressure in the lungs, enlargement of the right side of the heart, and causes debilitating symptoms such as difficulty breathing and extreme fatigue.
Although medications may improve symptoms, the only effective treatment for severe PPH is a heart-lung transplant. And for Claire, as her condition worsened, these transplants became Claire's only hope for survival.
Three years after her cardiologist made the devastating diagnosis, Claire received a call informing her that a donor had been found. An 18-year-old man was left brain dead in a motorcycle accident, and his family had agreed to donate his organs. Claire was about to become the first person to receive a heart-lung transplant at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Claire's transplant was unique not only because she was the first such surgery in New England, but also because of the changes that occurred after the surgery.
In an interview with a reporter on the third day after surgery, she was asked, “Claire, what do you want to do more than anything now that you've experienced this miracle?'' Her reply surprised even herself. “Actually, I'm really craving beer right now.'' Claire later wrote that she was “mortified'' by the words that came out of her mouth. She felt this was a thoughtless answer to her sincere question, but worse, she didn't like beer.
Then she began to think that maybe some of her donor's personality traits existed within her. Before she received her new organ, she developed a new taste for foods she didn't like. In particular, she now has a strong desire to eat green peppers, which she previously hated. Now she adds peppers to a variety of dishes.
Also, once I was allowed to drive, I went straight to Kentucky Fried Chicken to satisfy my chicken nugget cravings. This made no sense to her as she had never eaten fast food before her transplant.
Claire also noticed other changes in her personality. She no longer felt lonely and she felt more independent. She was more confident, assertive, and even aggressive.
One night, she had a dream about a man named Tim. And in that dream she knew that Tim would be with her forever.
More than two years after the transplant, Claire read the obituary of an 18-year-old man who died in a motorcycle accident shortly before receiving his new heart and lungs. His name was Tim. Claire called Tim's family and scheduled a meeting.
When they met, Claire asked if Tim liked peppers. His sister replied: He loved them, but what he really loved were chicken nuggets. ”
further evidence
It would be amazing if Claire's story were the only story ever written that depicts an organ recipient's personality changing, matching that of the donor. But that's not the case.
Claire's Story was published in 1997. 3 years later, neuropsychologist paul pearsall published a paper describing 10 heart transplant recipients who experienced personality changes similar to those of their donors. These similarities included changing tastes in food, music, art, sex, recreation, and career. Additionally, some recipients identified the donor's name and recalled specific events from the donor's life.
One of Pearsall's cases involved a 5-year-old boy who received the heart of a 3-year-old boy. The recipient said: “I named the boy. He is younger than me and I call him Timmy. He was injured when he fell. Like me, he is a power I think I love the Rangers, but I don't like them anymore.
The recipient's father explained that neither his son nor his parents knew the donor's name or age. Later they learned that the donor's name was Thomas, but his next of kin called him Tim. She added that the recipient's mother learned that when Tim reached for a Power Rangers toy, he fell off a window ledge and died.
Recently, my colleagues and I published our findings. study It found that 89 percent of organ transplant recipients said their personality changed after transplanting various organs.
Where are the memories stored?
Such stories and research findings seem incredible, especially if you believe that memories can only be stored in the brain. There are many studies that support this view.Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramon y Cajal It was suggested in 1894 that memory is stored in synapses in the brain, and an American-Canadian neurosurgeon wilder penfield In 1937, he published a study confirming this discovery.
But is it possible that transplanted organs also store memories? The latest research suggests this may be possible.a previous review Discovered memories can be stored in DNA, RNA, proteins, and epigenetic changes in cells outside the brain.
These findings do not prove that organ transplants cause personality changes, but they do raise some questions: Where is memory stored? What types of memories are stored in cells outside the brain? Is it preserved? What factors influence personality? Is it possible that these factors are transplanted with donated organs?
Further research is needed to investigate these and other questions. Such research would help organ transplant recipients better adapt to their new organs.
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