Monday, April 7, 2008

Man with suicide victim's heart takes his own life

From MSNBC/AP:

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - A man who received a heart transplant 12 years ago and later married the donor's widow died the same way the donor did, authorities said: of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

also:
Grateful for his new heart, Graham began writing letters to the donor's family to thank them. In January 1997, Graham met his donor's widow, Cheryl Cottle, then 28, in Charleston.

"I felt like I had known her for years," Graham told The (Hilton Head) Island Packet for a story in 2006. "I couldn't keep my eyes off her. I just stared."

Some would contend that this is no coincidence. Proponents of cellular memory cite anecdotal evidence of patients who have received transplanted organs, particularly hearts, inheriting memories, behaviors, preferences and habits associated with the donor. Examples include love for classical music when none existed before, change of sexual orientation, changes in diet and vocabulary, and in one case an identification of the donor's murderer.

Some cry pseudoscience, but others offer compelling evidence. See this excerpt from a 2005 Nexus Magazine article, in which a number of intriguing cases are outlined.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't forget that poor young girl who got an ex psychopath's retina transplanted and starting seeing all that scary shit. Seems like it was BUffy the vampire girl that it happened to.

John M. said...

I'm not familiar with that case. I'll have to look it up.