A mother has heard her late daughter’s heart beat inside the chest of the man who received it during a transplant operation.
Amber Morgan’s daughter Andreona has died of asthma at the age of 20.
Tom Johnson, 68, suffered from a weakened heart since childhood. Doctors tried installing a pacemaker but decided a transplant was the best solution.
Four years after the surgery, Mr Johnson, from Illinois, USA, pressed a stethoscope to his chest while Ms Morgan, from Indiana, listened.
“It was almost like I was going to hug my daughter again,” she said.
“As a mother, when you hold your baby and you hear their heartbeat, I don’t think you’ll ever ask to hear it again. It’s amazing.
“She was there for others and helping them. She made me proud all her life, and she still makes me proud.”
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Mr. Johnson said he wanted to express his gratitude and wrote to Ms. Morgan in 2019, a year after receiving the transplant at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago.
He also sent a second letter, but didn’t hear back until recently when Ms. Morgan said she wanted to meet, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Discussing the program, Mr Johnson said it “opens up a whole new world of possibilities”.
He added: “It’s unbelievable. I mean, I can work out in the garden, ride my bike. My boys can’t believe how fast I can go.
“It’s been a great blessing for me to be able to meet Amber. I pray almost every night that it will happen.
“I always refer to my donors and now I have a name. It’s unbelievable.”
His wife Sharon said he took “very special care” of the organ and “never missed his heart medication – ever”.
The meeting, held at a hotel in Chicago, was arranged by the Indiana Donor Network.