· 28 comments · Save ·
Announcements Mar 28, 2026 at 7:19 AM

Science shows that heart transplants patients can carry the memories/feelings of the donor — how would you feel if you met someone who had a heart of someone you loved?

Posted by StephhhLouisa

🚩 Report this post

28 Comments

Sign in to comment — or just click the box below.
🔒 Your email is never shown publicly.
Totallycasual Mar 28, 2026 +5
This doesn't sound like something scientists would say lol
5
StephhhLouisa Mar 28, 2026 -1
a quick Google search my friend
-1
Totallycasual Mar 28, 2026 +4
Some donors/recipients report feeling different emotions and they personally attribute them to the original organs owner isn't the same as the scientific method proving or disproving it 😂
4
StephhhLouisa Mar 28, 2026 -1
right… that’s not what the research states but ok
-1
DrMux Mar 28, 2026 +3
If you're going to tell someone to google something, you can't expect them to have the exact same search results and find the exact same study you read (if you ever read one). Search results are personalized based on data collected about you, and users are given different results/information.
3
jaggington Mar 28, 2026 +3
You’re the one making the claim, you provide the links to articles and scientific research papers.
3
Esquire_NZ Mar 28, 2026 +1
I thought they were full of it too, but it seems there may be something to it. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11061817/
1
jaggington Mar 28, 2026 +2
As far as I’m concerned, that paper is highly speculative. The supporting evident is anecdotal with no controlled experiments. Where, for example, is the analysis of patients who either experienced no changes in dietary and other preferences, and those whose changes in preferences didn’t correspond to those of the donor? The explanatatory hypotheses, even those based on biological mechanisms, are far from robust. At best, it’s suggestive of possible avenues of more robust, methodological research.
2
Esquire_NZ Mar 28, 2026 +2
Downvotes are for comments that are off topic or don't contribute at all mate. I agree the whole premise is pretty thin, but this paper (and others in a similar vein) move me from "this is utter codswallop" to "who knows, there might be something to it".
2
jaggington Mar 28, 2026 +2
I’m not the one who downvoted you, and I apologise for not initially upvoting you for your helpful response in providing the link. I agree with your sentiment.
2
Esquire_NZ Mar 28, 2026 +2
Apologies if I came off snarky mate.
2
StephhhLouisa Mar 28, 2026 -2
I didn’t make the claim, scientists did. Google it or don’t. Doesn’t change my world.
-2
jaggington Mar 28, 2026 +1
You’re the one making the claim about “scientists”.
1
StephhhLouisa Mar 28, 2026 +1
for some reason, this had been keeping me up at night. Because it sounds beautiful, and it is in a way but also, those aren’t their feelings or memories. And then again, what makes a person? Are they fully themselves if they have the heart, memories and feelings of someone else?
1
Fritzkreig Mar 28, 2026 +1
Not that I am an expert, but I would bet that those "memories" are not the episodic type that most people associate with normal memory.
1
StephhhLouisa Mar 28, 2026 +2
Most of the articles I’ve read, the memories show up in the patients’ dreams but the feelings that come along with them are also present. And sometimes even the personality, so it makes me wonder like does a person lose themselves when they under heart transplant surgery
2
Fritzkreig Mar 28, 2026 +1
I remain skeptical, but I have done serious research into phylogenetic memory, vs ontogenetic memory, and while epigenetics is real in my opinion; it is not like a person can remember something like their dad teaching them how to grill a good steak, while mom is making a good cheesecake.
1
StephhhLouisa Mar 28, 2026 +2
could you offer some articles to look into? I’m interested
2
Fritzkreig Mar 28, 2026 +2
I kinda got big into this research in like 2o years ago, but here is a more modern [arty.](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40750-021-00181-5)
2
DavosLostFingers Mar 28, 2026 +1
The potential carrying on of memories/feelings wouldn't bother or interest me in the slightest. It's not what it's all about for me. When my dad died, his organs were donated to people in need. I've never met any of them but if I did, I'd be focused on how he helped give others a chance
1
StephhhLouisa Mar 28, 2026 +2
I’m sorry for you loss, that’s very noble of him.
2
DavosLostFingers Mar 28, 2026 +2
That's very sweet thank you. I guess I'm trying to say I appreciate why people would hold on to the possibility of a loved one's memories/feelings living on in someone else, but in my view, it'll never be them. It isn't going to bring them back. I have my own memories to hold on to (again just my opinion)
2
Rare_Squash9852 Mar 28, 2026 +1
Honestly it's despicable to tell how I'm gonna feel
1
Zestyclose-Heat1551 Mar 28, 2026 +1
How high are you?
1
r00tb33r666 Mar 28, 2026 +1
Nonsense.
1
ZorroMeansFox Mar 28, 2026 +1
This isn't true. It's been the silly premise for lots of Horror and Romance stories, though.
1
Unable-Telephone-268 Mar 28, 2026 +1
that’s wild to think about, fr. i’d probably feel a mix of hope and sadness, like meeting a piece of them again but also missing them all over.
1
StephhhLouisa Mar 28, 2026 +1
exactly how I feel
1
← Back to Board