Meet three brave transplant survivors who gave their old hearts to research
We're 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.
Helping science
Katie James, Kara Terol and Hannah Sharma, who all donated their hearts to research, including projects at Imperial College London, are encouraging others facing transplants to consider doing the same.
The three women, who all had a heart transplant before the age of 35, are helping science to move a step closer to a cure for heart failure. The tissue from their hearts has already made a difference, after being donated to a research project that helped to identify an important faulty protein. This protein, if corrected by gene therapy, may help others avoid heart failure.
The women’s generosity could also move scientists closer to creating new heart valves in the lab, and could help to determine how the heart’s normal electrical signals are disrupted by the heart muscle disease cardiomyopathy.
Katie James
She nicknamed her donor heart - which allows her to go paddleboarding and hiking - ‘Alfie’. Now aged 41 and living in Bournemouth, she said: “I didn’t say no to donating my heart, and I don’t say no to very much now. As I tell people, you only live once – or you only live twice, as I feel I have done after getting my new heart.”
Hannah Sharma
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 and her son in hospital
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.”
"An incredible act"
Our chief scientific and medical officer, Professor Bryan Williams, said: “Giving the gift of an organ donation is an incredible act, and yet we rarely talk about the extraordinary living heart donors.“These are people who look to the future and decide their old heart could help others – even as they prepare for the life‑altering journey of a heart transplant and the long recovery that follows.
“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.”
"Lasting legacy"
The Heart, Lung and Critical Care Biobank at Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, is responsible for storing tissue from heart donors including these three women, and providing it to approved research groups for their important work.Harshil Bhayani, Heart, Lung and Critical Care (HLCC) Biobank Manager, from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Trust said: “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.
“These contributions are more than samples - they represent a lasting legacy that supports progress in research and benefits future generations.”