People receiving organ transplants have reported strange changes in their emotions, tastes, and memories.
This phenomenon is most common in heart recipients, but those who received kidneys, lungs, and even faces have also noticed changes to their food preferences, music choices, and even sexual orientation.
For some patients, their new hobbies and preferences mirror those of their donors, which has led experts to question if recipients are also receiving their donors’ memories.
In a review published earlier this year, researchers pointed to one case study in which a nine-year-old boy received a heart from a three-year-old girl who drowned in her family’s pool.
Though the boy had no idea how his donor died, his mother reported that he became ‘deathly afraid of water.’
In another, a college professor who received a heart from a fallen police officer who was shot in the face started seeing ‘a flash of light’ right in front of his eyes.
He said: ‘My face gets real, real hot. It actually burns.’
Increasing research suggests this could be because the heart and brain are intrinsically linked, as the heart shares neurons and cells similar to the brain.
Additionally, an organ transplant may cause genes that control traits to change and express themselves differently.
In a recent study, researchers detailed cases of heart transplant recipients adopting their donors’ preferences and memories
In the study, researchers detailed case studies of heart transplant recipients who seemed to ‘inherit’ their donors’ memories. Pictured here is Charlotte Carney, a student from the UK who had a heart transplant in 2019 for a life-threatening cardiac condition
The researchers in the 2024 review wrote: ‘Emerging evidence suggests that heart transplantation may involve the transfer of the donor’s personality traits and memories to the recipient, challenging conventional views of memory and identity.
‘Additionally, the heart’s neural network and bidirectional communication with the brain support the concept of heart-brain connection in memory and personality.’
The team suggested that these changes could be due to a transfer of cellular memory, which suggests that individual cells may be able to form memories. However, the mechanism for this is still unclear.
Additionally, introducing a new organ to the recipient’s body could cause genes to express themselves differently.
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However, many experts believe that these cases are too coincidental, and the changes may instead be a psychological response to recovering from major surgery and near-deadly heart conditions.
Experts from McGill University in Canada, for example, suggested that immunosuppressant medications that organ recipients have to take can cause increases in appetite, which could change their perspective on food.
Other research suggests that recipients may go into the surgery already worried about inheriting their donor’s behaviors or personality traits, which could lead to behavioral changes.
The stress of having a major, lifesaving operation can also cause patients to change their outlooks on certain aspects of their lives like relationships.
In addition to memories, some patients also report specific preferences shifting.
In one 2002 case study, doctors detailed the case of a woman who inherited her donor’s food preferences.
The researchers wrote: ‘She was a health conscious dancer and choreographer, upon leaving the hospital she had an uncontrollable urge to go to a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant and order chicken nuggets, a food she never ate.
‘Interestingly, uneaten Kentucky Fried Chicken nuggets were found in the jacket of the young man when he was killed.’
Another 29-year-old woman who received a heart from a 19-year-old vegetarian suddenly developed an aversion to meat.
The researchers also cited sexual orientations changing.
In one case study mentioned, a homosexual male recipient of a heart from a lesbian artist reportedly became more attracted to women.
Meanwhile, one lesbian woman who received a heterosexual woman’s heart said she became attracted to men after her transplant and started questioning her sexuality.
The team behind the 2024 review cautioned that more research is needed on the connection btween heart transplants and memory.
They wrote: ‘Further interdisciplinary research is needed to unravel the intricacies of memory transfer, neuroplasticity, and organ integration, offering insights into both organ transplantation and broader aspects of neuroscience and human identity.
‘Understanding these complexities holds promise for enhancing patient care in organ transplantation and deepens our understanding of fundamental aspects of human experience and existence.’
