There are two kinds of medical death of a human body accepted by the law, one is brain death where the activity of the human brain ceases and second when the functioning of the heart stops. In both cases patients are considered dead.
It is a very debated topic that organs other than brain have memories in them. It kinda sounds similar to the game by Ubisoft's Assasins Creed in which memories are stored inside DNA. The Heart is second most vital organ in the human body. Do you think it has a place it humans memories and emotions biologically?
There have been perplexing reports of organ transplant receivers claiming that they seem to have inherited the memory, experiences and emotions of their deceased donors, causing quirky changes in their personality.
Cases of personality changes due to organ transplants.
Before we discuss the cases, it is pertinent to note that apart from miscellaneous information such as gender, age and cause of death, profiles of organ donors are traditionally kept concealed from their recipients for psychological reasons. The cases discussed here came to light after mysterious behavioural symptoms resulted in renunciation of the traditional donor-recipient anonymity.
Case 1: On May 29, 1988, an American woman named Claire Sylvia received a heart transplant at a hospital in Yale, Connecticut. She was told that her donor was a eighteen-year old male from Maine, USA who had just died in a motorcycle accident. Soon after the operation, Sylvia declared that she felt like drinking beer, something she wasn't particularly fond of. Later, she observed an uncontrollable urge to eat chicken nuggets and found herself wanting to visit the popular chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken. She also began craving for green peppers which was something she hadn't particularly liked before. Sylvia also began having recurring dreams about a mystery man named Tim L., who she had a feeling was her donor. On a cue from someone, she searched for obituaries in newspapers from Maine, and was able to identify the young man whose heart she had received. His name had indeed been Tim. After visiting Tim’s family, she discovered that he used to love chicken nuggets, green peppers and beer. These experiences are documented in her book “A Change of Heart” by Claire Sylvia.
Case 2: This story comes from an article in the Daily Mail. William Sheridan, a retired catering manager with poor drawing skills, suddenly developed artistic talents after a heart transplant operation. He was amazed to discover that the man who donated his new heart had been a keen artist.
Case 3: A forty seven-year-old Caucasian male, who received a heart from an African-American teenager, was puzzled to find in himself a new-found taste for classical music. He presumed that the donor must have liked rap music and dismissed the idea that the organ transplant had anything to do with his changed personality. He was surprised to learn that the donor had been an avid violin player, and had died while clutching his violin case to his chest.
Case 4: An eight-year-old girl, who received the heart of a ten-year-old girl who had been murdered, began having recurring vivid nightmares about the murder. Her mother arranged a consultation with a psychiatrist and after several sessions, the girl’s psychiatrist decided she was experiencing actual physical incidents. They decided to call the police who used the detailed descriptions of the murderer given by the little girl to find and convict the man in question.
Critics deny the existence of proof that memories can be transplanted along with organs, and fear such assertions will cause donor numbers to fall. Some non-believers attribute personality changes in transplant recipients to the heavy drugs they must take to prevent organ rejection.
There are theories Proposed to understand this phenomena which is not widely accepted. Below video might help you to understand it.
Enjoy reading and be open to the things that world has to offer.
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