The organ is kept as an exhibit at the Hunterian Museum in London.
In one of the strangest reunions ever, a woman recently visited a museum to see her heart, which was removed from her body during a life-saving transplant surgery 16 years ago. BBC informed of. Jennifer Sutton, who is from Ringwood in Hampshire, said it was “incredibly surreal” to see her own organ as an exhibit at the Hunterian Museum in London.
“The minute you first enter, you think, ‘That used to be inside my body’,” she said. “But it’s also great – it’s like my friend. It’s lasted me 22 years and I’m actually quite proud of it. I’ve seen a lot of stuff in jars in my lifetime, but to think that really It’s mine, so weird.”
She expressed how she hoped it would support organ donation, which she described as “the greatest gift possible”. He told me BBC that she now leads an active and busy life and intends to “keep herself running as long as possible”.
When Ms. Sutton first discovered she had difficulty with moderate exercise activity, such as walking hills, she was a 22-year-old university student. She was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy, a health condition that restricts the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body. The doctors told her that she would die if she did not get a transplant.
In June 2007, she received the life-changing news that a match had been found.
“I remember waking up after the transplant and thinking ‘Oh my gosh, I’m a really new person. I remember doing a little double thumbs up dance to my family and saying ‘I did it, I did it,” she said.
Ms Sutton then gave permission for the Royal College of Surgeons to use her heart for display and it is now open for all to see at the museum in Holborn.
She said she wanted to take action to promote organ donation and said it led to life-defining moments like her wedding. She further added that she wanted to urge others to live life to the fullest and encouraged anyone planning to “do it today”.