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Organ transplant recipients can have their personalities changed in "unexpected" ways, a new study suggests.
The scientific paper titled "Personality changes associated with organ transplantation" was published in the medical journalTransplantationraises the question of how many transplant recipients experience major and lasting changes in their actions, thoughts, and behaviors.
The study, conducted by scientists at the University of Colorado School of Medicine (USA), looked at significant changes in patients' personalities after organ transplants.
In particular, the researchers also looked at the changes heart transplant recipients experienced and whether they were similar to those of other organ recipients.
The study was conducted with 47 participants who completed an online survey. Of these, 23 were heart recipients and 24 were organ recipients.
As a result, 89% of transplant recipients reported experiencing personality changes after transplant surgery.
Specifically, changes in preferences for food, music, art, occupation, intimate relationships, and recreational activities.
Some also shared about "new" experiences such as enhanced cognitive abilities, social and sexual adaptation, or more spiritual tendencies... after organ transplant.
The researchers considered these types of changes to be “neutral or beneficial,” but there were also some reports of worrying changes such as anxiety, delirium, depression, sexual dysfunction, and psychosis since the transplant.
In particular, many organ recipients report having memories or preferences that they had never had or that were unrelated to their previous personal experiences. They say that these sensory perceptions seem to be related to the donor.
The report cited an example: A 56-year-old college professor received the heart of a 34-year-old police officer who died after being shot in the face.
After the transplant, the professor recounted a strange experience: "A few weeks after receiving the heart, I started having dreams. I would see a beam of light shining directly on my face and my face would become really hot. My face felt like it was actually on fire."
Another volunteer said she developed a strong passion for music after receiving a donated heart from a young musician in the 1990s. Before the transplant, she had never played an instrument or sung music.
On the science news pageScience Alert, experts put forward a hypothesis called the "systemic memory hypothesis".
Accordingly, all living cells have the ability to remember, meaning memories can be transferred from donor to recipient through tissues. Although the neural connections in the transplanted organ are severed, the nerves can still function inside these organs.
TN (according to Tuoi Tre)