After the Heart transplant some strange things happend to me
This sentence come from Thomas who have experienced huge personality changes after he got hearttransplanted.
Did you know that heart transplant recipients can experience changes in personality?
Research has proven that heart transplant recipients can experience memories, behaviours, preferences and habits that can be transferred from the donor to the recipient. Source: www.paulpearsall.com
An example is Claire Sylvia, who has written her own biography “A change of Heart”, where she shares her personal story about recieving a young man’s heart.
Personally, I know Thomas who is heart transplanted and he has experienced and continues to experience major and extensive personality changes. Thomas is involved in my art project Open Heart
He says in an interview:
I am convinced that I got my new heart from a woman
“It has been going on for a few years now and it’s continuing. I feel like doing something completely opposite of what I have done before and dressing in a completely different way. I am pretty convinced that I have got my new heart from a woman. This experience is very exciting for me – because what is going on here?
I was born with a heart disase. At the age of 6 I got a pacemaker and at the age of 30 I had a heart transplant. I kind of didn’t care if it was a heart from one or the other. What you think about up and until the transplantation day, is either it is going well or I am not here anymore. I still don’t know if my heart comes from a man or a woman. It is an anonymous donor. I would like to know who the donor is.
I start to get some tendency and an ideas that I have NEVER had before. I want to what yoga is and wanted to take courses in that direction. In the past, I could immediately say yoga, I didn’t like it – it’s for sissies. That is just one exampel of several changes in me. I now feel like doing something completely opposite of what I have done before”.
The heart is more than a mechanical pump
Thomas continues: “Before, I felt like the heart is a mechanical pump, it’s a muscle. I had never in my wildest imagination imagined anything other than just continuing as I had always been. No, no –
you become somewhat wiser. I would like to hear if other heart transplant recipients have this experience of personality changes? If there is something people want to know, they can just come and ask me.
Thomas has recently chosen to accept the consequences of his identity changes. He has chosen to become more true to himself with gender reassignment treatments and a name change to Mette Maj.
What do you think about the heart?
What do you think of this report? – How do you relate to your heart and what do you feel it is capable of?
