Man survives 25 years with donor heart

A man has managed to live with a donor heart for a quarter of a century, becoming one of the longest-surviving heart transplant recipients on record.

A few weeks ago, 50-year-old Thomas Cook celebrated an unexpected milestone, having lived as long with a donor heart as he had with his own. In reality, however, the new heart became his own the moment surgeons transplanted it inside his chest 25 years ago.

“His body and his heart have become one,” Steven Boyce was quoted by LiveScience as saying.

Boyce is the surgical director of the heart failure and heart transplantation program at MedStar Heart Institute at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where Cook’s transplant took place on Feb. 1, 1989.

“We don’t know why. It’s very unusual when the body accepts a new organ and says, ‘Hey, you’re me.’ His body just accepted the organ and never caused a fuss,” Boyce added.

Cook has never experienced any significant rejection episodes or other major medical complications that can occur after heart transplantation.

He takes anti-rejection medicine, as all transplant patients must, but they have caused few problems.

“I’ve done nothing, but live my life,” he says.

“I’ve had ups and downs, but I’m enjoying the feelings of being alive. I’m happy to have them. It’s part of the cycle of life, and I’m happy to still be in that cycle.”

Survivors of heart transplantation operations often face post-surgical complications.

In addition, side effects from immunosuppressant drugs can result in kidney damage, infections and cancer.