In one of the oddest reunions ever, a woman recently visited a museum to see her own heart, which was removed from her body after a life-saving transplant procedure 16 years ago. Jennifer Sutton, a native of Ringwood, Hampshire, said it was “incredibly surreal” to see her own organ displayed at the Hunterian Museum in London.
”The minute you first walk in, you think, ‘That used to be inside my body’,” she said. “But it’s quite nice too—it’s like my friend. It kept me alive for 22 years and I’m quite proud of it really. I’ve seen lots of things in jars in my lifetime but to think that’s actually mine is very weird,” she added.
She stated her hope that it will promote organ donation, calling it “the greatest gift possible.” According to what she recently revealed to the BBC, she now leads an active and hectic life and wants to “keep myself going for as long as possible.”
Sutton was a 22-year-old university student when she first realized she had trouble with moderate exercise activities, such as walking up hills. She was identified as having restrictive cardiomyopathy, a disorder that limits the heart’s capacity to circulate blood throughout the body. She was told by doctors that if she did not have a transplant, she would pass away. She learned the life-changing news that a match had been identified in June 2007.
“I remember waking up after the transplant and thinking ‘Oh my goodness I am actually a new person. I remember doing a little double thumbs up dance to my family and saying ‘I made it I made it,” she said.
Sutton subsequently gave permission for the Royal College of Surgeons to show her heart, which is now on display for everyone to view at the museum in Holborn.
She stated that she wanted to do something to encourage organ donation and noted that it helped important life events, like her wedding, happen. She continued by urging everyone to live life to the fullest.
