Three courageous heart transplant survivors are celebrated by the British Heart Foundation for giving their old hearts for research
· News-MedicalThe British Heart Foundation is celebrating three incredible young women who donated their old hearts to science after having heart transplant surgery.
We often talk about organ donors who have sadly passed away, and whose generous decision to donate their organs after their death has saved the lives of others. But many people who are still living also donate their organs to help other people, by agreeing for them to be used in scientific research projects.
Hannah Sharma was supposed to be watching the Spice Girls kick off their reunion tour in Dublin on the day she got her heart transplant - May 24, 2019. Aged just 28 at the time, she was the youngest on the transplant ward. She rewarded herself after the operation and her recovery by getting her beloved seven-year-old miniature dachshund, Huey. Hannah, from Hadlow Down in Sussex, had heart failure caused by dilated cardiomyopathy - a disease of the heart muscle where the heart chambers become enlarged and the heart's muscle wall becomes thinner and weaker. This was thought to have been triggered by a virus. She said: “My old heart wasn’t what makes me ‘me’, and I was happy to give it to scientists who needed it. I just hope it can help others, so that fewer transplants are needed in the future.”
Kara Terol, a mother-of-one who was 34 when she had her transplant in 2022, and lives in Crewe, can thank research for the discovery that she had a dangerous heart condition. When she was expecting her son, George, she signed up as a volunteer for a study investigating how pregnancy affects the heart. That is how she found out that she had restrictive cardiomyopathy – a condition where part of the heart becomes stiff, restricting its ability to pump blood around the body. Kara said: “I had no doubt that I would be donating my heart for research – I wouldn’t have known I had a heart condition if it wasn’t for the pregnancy research I signed up for, and scientific studies are vital.”
Professor Bryan Williams OBE, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, said:
“Giving the gift of an organ donation is an incredible act, and yet we rarely talk about the extraordinary living heart donors.
“Their decision to donate their heart for research opens the door to discoveries that can only be made through examination of real human tissue, allowing researchers to identify the cause of heart diseases, test new ideas and refine treatments.
“We cannot thank these people enough for the vital part they play in driving scientific innovation and progress.”
These contributions are more than samples - they represent a lasting legacy that supports progress in research and benefits future generations.”Many of the medical breakthroughs we rely on today were made possible by patients who chose to donate samples. By donating hearts affected by disease, patients help address critical gaps in scientific knowledge that cannot be filled in other ways.
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