Transplant Patient Reunited With
Her Own Heart At Wellcome Collection
4 September 2007: Heart transplant patient Jennifer Sutton did something
today that none of us ever can, she came face-to-face with her own heart
in The Heart exhibition at Wellcome Collection, a new £30m
public venue from the Wellcome Trust. www.wellcomecollection.org
Jennifer was visiting The Heart at Wellcome Collection before the
exhibition closes on 16 September 2007.
Jennifer, 23, from the New Forest, had a heart transplant at Papworth
Hospital, Cambridge, on 4 June 2007. She lent her heart to Wellcome Collection
for The Heart exhibition to increase public awareness of donation and
Restrictive Cardiomyopathy, the disease that would have killed her.
Four out of 10 deaths in the UK are from heart and circulatory disease,
according to the British Heart Foundation. UK Transplant reports that
currently heart patients wait an average of 103 days for a suitable organ
to become available. Sadly for some the wait is too long: last year 28
patients died while listed for a heart transplant.
The Heart is Wellcome Collection's first temporary exhibition.
It explores the medical and cultural significance of the heart and brings
together contemporary and historic artefacts from across the world. The
exhibition traces the history of our medical understanding of the heart
and examines its extraordinary symbolic and cultural significance. Exhibits
as diverse as work by Leonardo da Vinci and Andy Warhol,
through to the Egyptian Book of the Dead and Jennifer Sutton's
heart are displayed. The exhibition closes on 16 September 2007.
Jennifer Sutton said: "Seeing my heart for the first time
is an emotional and surreal experience. It caused me so much pain and
turmoil when it was inside me. Seeing it sitting here is extremely bizarre
and very strange. Finally I can see this odd looking lump of muscle that
has given me so much upset. It's tremendous it has become an object of
fascination and will get people thinking about the disease, heart transplants
and organ donation.
"I would not be here and able to look at my heart if were not for
the wonderful person who left me their heart and to whom I am forever
indebted. Through their gift they have truly given me life. I hope one
day to thank the family. I had learned not to think about the future.
Suddenly it's all before me and I am so happy to be alive."
James Peto, Exhibition Curator, said: "It's a real
privilege to be able to include Jennifer's heart in the exhibition and
extraordinary to see her so full of energy so soon after the transplant.
To see the heart of a person still living is quite remarkable and Jennifer's
heart is definitely one of the most thought-provoking features of the
exhibition.
Wellcome Collection combines three contemporary galleries together with
the world-famous Wellcome Library, public events forum, café, bookshop,
conference centre and members' club, to provide visitors with radical
insight into the human condition. Wellcome Collection has been visited
by over 45,000 people since it opened on 21 June 2007.
Restrictive Cardiomyopathy explained
Restrictive Cardiomyopathy causes the heart muscle to stiffen so the
heart cannot relax normally during diastole (the time between heartbeats
in which the blood returns from the body to the heart). As the disease
progresses the heart muscle continues to stiffen and eventually contraction
is also affected. A very low output from the heart can affect the function
of other organs. The disease eventually causes death. Transplant is the
only cure.
Jennifer's life before and after transplant
Jennifer began to notice the effects of Restrictive Cardiomyopathy at
about 18 years old getting increasingly out of breath and suffering from
chronic tiredness. She became increasingly sick while studying for a degree
in Animal Science at Sparsholt College, Winchester and the decision was
made in April 2007 to transplant her heart. She had the operation on 4
June 2007, following an uncommonly quick waiting period of only eight
weeks. After transplant, Bramley, Jennifer's dog (a German Pointer), is
getting the best walks of his life. For the first time, Jennifer can walk
without stopping every couple of metres and she is enjoying life and making
plans for the future; something she was unable to do before. She has a
strict regime of immune suppressant drugs to stop her body rejecting the
donated heart, and will have to follow such a system for the rest of her
life. This includes about 12 pills a day, weighing herself and taking
her temperature every morning. However, she would not return to her pre-operation
state and considers herself hugely lucky.
Jennifer's heart will return to Papworth at the close of The Heart exhibition
on 16 September. The hospital will use her heart to increase understanding
about Restrictive cardiomyopathy.
Jennifer Sutton's fundraising drive
Jennifer is hosting a netball tournament, fete and live music event to
help to raise money for Papworth's Transplant Unit. The event takes place
on 9 September at Poulmer Junior School, Ringwood, Hampshire from 1500-2230hrs.
Heartfelt Emotions
A special two day symposium run by Wellcome Collection that brings together
experts from the worlds of science, history, art and philosophy to explore
the role of our heads and hearts in shaping our moods and behavior, will
held on September 7 and 8. Full details at www.wellcomecollection.org.
Joining the Organ Donation Register
Find out about organ donation and join the NHS Organ Donor Register: 0845
60 60 400 or www.uktransplant.org.uk
END
Notes to Editors
Wellcome Collection Media Centre & Images
www.kallaway.co.uk/wellcome.htm
Press contacts
Will Kallaway
T +44 (0)20 7221 7883
E will.kallaway@kallaway.co.uk
Anna Cusden
T +44 (0)20 7221 7883
E anna.cusden@kallaway.co.uk
Papworth Hospital Press Contacts
Katharine Boness
T +44 (0)1480 364 929
E Katharine.boness@papworth.nhs.uk
Morag Parsons
T +44 (0)1480 364 657
E morag.parsons@papworth.nhs.uk
About Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
(www.papworth-hospital.org.uk)
Papworth Hospital is the UK's largest provider of specialist heart and
lung services, notably cardiology, respiratory medicine, cardiothoracic
surgery and heart and lung transplantation. It treats over 20,000 inpatient
and day cases and almost 30,000 outpatients each year. Papworth carried
out the UK's first successful heart transplant in 1979, Europe's first
successful heart-lung transplant in 1984 and the world's first heart,
lung and liver transplant in 1989. The UK's first beating heart transplant
was carried out at the hospital in 2006.
Wellcome Collection (www.wellcomecollection.org)
Wellcome Collection is a new £30 million visitor attraction from
the Wellcome Trust that opened on 21 June 2007. Admission is free.
Wellcome Collection is a world first. It combines three contemporary galleries
together with the world-famous Wellcome Library, public events forum,
café, bookshop, conference centre and members' club, to provide
visitors with radical insight into the human condition.??
Wellcome Collection builds on the vision, legacy and personal collection
of Wellcome Trust founder Sir Henry Wellcome and is part of the Wellcome
Trust's mission to foster understanding and promote research to improve
human and animal health. The building is centred around three substantial
galleries totalling 1350m2
Highlights include:
 |
Special exhibitions (650m2): The largest gallery in Wellcome Collection is used to host temporary exhibitions, presenting newly commissioned works and thematic shows structured around topics of medical, cultural and ethical significance. The opening exhibition is The Heart, 21 June - 16 September 2007. |
|
Medicine Man (350m2): The permanent exhibition contains more than 500 strange and beautiful artefacts from Sir Henry Wellcome's original collection, presented in a rich American walnut-panelled gallery, centred on a large 'Wunderkammer' cabinet. |
|
Medicine Now (350m2): The permanent Medicine Now exhibition explores contemporary medical topics through the eyes of scientists, artists and popular culture in a bright contemporary environment. |
Public events: A lively programme of public events expand on exhibition
themes. Wellcome Collection's flexible events space, the Forum, will bring
audiences face-to-face with prominent experts and personalities from the
worlds of art, science and the humanities, to explore current issues and
ancient mysteries of human wellbeing. Heartfelt Emotions is the first
of ten events in September and October 2007.
Wellcome Library: The Wellcome Library contains over two million
items and is one of the world's greatest collections for the study of
the history and progress of medicine. The public areas of the Library
span two floors of Wellcome Collection and include the fully restored
Reading Room, first used as a Hall of Statuary by Sir Henry Wellcome in
1932.
The Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK and the second largest
medical research charity in the world. It funds innovative biomedical
research, in the UK and internationally, spending around £500 million
each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The
Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its
impact on health and wellbeing. Wellcome Trust funding has supported a
number of major successes, including:
sequencing the
human genome
establishing
the UK Biobank
development
of the antimalarial drug artemisinin
pioneering cognitive
behavioural therapies for psychological disorders
building the
Wellcome Wing at the Science Museum
the Wellcome
Trust Case Control Consortium, the largest ever genetic study of common
diseases such as diabetes,
coronary heart disease and bipolar disorder
The Wellcome Trust is a charity registered in England, no. 210183.
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