She Woke With a Stranger's Heart and Their Memories | Transplanting Donor Organs & Personalities

When Alison Conklin woke up with a stranger's heart beating in her chest, she also woke up with a stranger's appetite — a lifelong meat eater who suddenly couldn't stomach the thought of it, along with memories of songs she'd never heard and moments she'd never lived. She's not alone. Nearly 90 percent of transplant recipients in one study reported personality changes after surgery — new food cravings, unfamiliar emotions, even fragments of someone else's life bleeding into their own.<br …