London, United Kingdom
A woman in England recently visited a museum to see her own heart which was removed from her body 16 years ago by doctors during a life-saving transplant surgery.
Jennifer Sutton, who hails from Ringwood in Hampshire, stated that it was "incredibly surreal" to see her own organ placed as an exhibit at Hunterian Museum in London.
The 38-year-old Sutton said that she plans to promote organ donation which she described as "the greatest gift possible".
Speaking to BBC, she said that now she was leading an active and busy life and plans to "keep myself going for as long as possible".
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Sutton was studying at a university when she realised that she struggled to do moderate exercises, like walking up hills.
The woman was quickly diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy, which is a health condition that restricts the ability of the heart to pump blood around the body and was informed by the doctor that she would die if she did not receive a transplant.
The health of Sutton, who was then 22 years old, deteriorated rapidly while she remained on the transplant waiting list. In June 2007, she received the news that a donor has matched her sample.
She had been facing anxiety from the age of 13 when her mother lost her life following the same surgery.
"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.
A heart at display
Sutton permitted the Royal College of Surgeons to use her heart for a display and it is now open for all to see at the museum in Holborn.
"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.
Sutton stated that she wanted to take steps for promoting organ donation and added it made life-defining moments, such as her wedding, happen which otherwise appeared impossible.
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"It's been 16 fantastic years and I wouldn't have had any of them without my donor. I'm incredibly busy, active and keeping this heart as healthy as possible - keeping myself going for as long as possible,” she said.
She further stated that she wanted to appeal to others to live life to the fullest and encouraged people who have a habit of putting off plans to "do it today".
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