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| - As it stands, this claim is based purely on hearsay and speculation. To track down the source of the rumor, Snopes contacted the administrators of a website for the deceased Paul Pearsall, Ph.D, whose book "The Heart's Code: Tapping the Wisdom and Power of Our Heart Energy" appeared to be the origin of the claim. However, in his book, Pearsall did not provide a name for the little girl, nor for the person from whom he heard the story secondhand.
A claim has circulated online for years that an 8-year-old girl, who received a heart transplant from a murdered 10-year-old girl, helped the police catch her donor's killer after experiencing nightmares about the crime.
In October 2022, a YouTube video talking about a theoretical phenomenon known as cellular memory recounted the tale.
One user commented on the video, saying: "I believe that consciousness exists within every cell in our body. I also believe that, if this is a legit story, it's basically a form of quantum entanglement."
The DEAD Talks podcast also featured a guest recounting this claim in a 2023 episode, prompting one person to comment: "I believe this wholeheartedly. I've known of nonsmokers who started smoking after an organ transplant. Come to find out, in talks with the Family of the deceased donor, the person used to be a smoker."
The claim also made an appearance on the Unsolved Mysteries subreddit in October 2019. However, one user, who was less than convinced, replied: "Urban legend. This would be huge if it actually happen. I can't imagine a grand jury indicting anyone on evidence like that."
Cellular Memory Theory
A 2014 post from Boston University's The Nerve Blog explains the theory of cellular memory as "memories, as well as personality traits, are not only stored in the brain but may also be stored in organs such as the heart."
An abstract of a 2024 study called "Beyond the Pump: A Narrative Study Exploring Heart Memory" goes into further detail about how this might work and the need for more research to actually find evidence of it.
Studies indicate that heart transplant recipients may exhibit preferences, emotions, and memories resembling those of the donors, suggesting a form of memory storage within the transplanted organ. Mechanisms proposed for this memory transfer include cellular memory, epigenetic modifications, and energetic interactions… Further interdisciplinary research is needed to unravel the intricacies of memory transfer, neuroplasticity, and organ integration, offering insights into both organ transplantation and broader aspects of neuroscience and human identity.
Was the Case of the Little Girl Real?
The post from The Nerve Blog recounted the claim about the 8-year-old girl. However, there is no evidence that the case was authentic, and no credible news organization has reported on this alleged story. The Nerve Blog post also concluded: "There is no strong scientific evidence on the process of cellular memories."
The claim that a child recipient of a heart transplant was able to help catch her donor's killer appeared to originate from a 1998 book about cellular memory by Paul Pearsall, Ph.D, "The Heart's Code: Tapping the Wisdom and Power of Our Heart Energy,"
According to Pearsall's website, the book "presents the scientific evidence that the heart literally thinks, remembers, speaks to the brain about its own unique feelings, and connects with other hearts. It presents evidence of cellular memory and that some heart transplant recipients report receiving memories and personality characteristics of their donor."
In it, Pearsall recalls an anecdote allegedly told to him at a conference of "psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers" on an unspecified date in Houston, in which a psychiatrist tearfully recounted the story:
Sobbing to the point that the audience and I had difficulty understanding her, she said, "I have a patient, an eight-year-old little girl who received the heart of a murdered ten-year-old girl. Her mother brought her to me when she started screaming at night about her dreams of the man who had murdered her donor. She said her daughter knew who it was. After several sessions, I just could not deny the reality of what this child was telling me. Her mother and I finally decided to call the police and, using the descriptions from the little girl, they found the murderer. He was easily convicted with evidence my patient provided. The time, the weapon, the place, the clothes he wore, what the little girl he killed had said to him … everything the little heart transplant recipient reported was completely accurate."
("The Heart's Code: Tapping the Wisdom and Power of Our Heart Energy" by Paul Pearsall, Ph.D.)
The specifics of this story match the claim that has circulated online, and Pearsall is often mentioned in comments discussing it.
However, there is no evidence to support the origin of the claim or its validity. Pearsall did not provide a name for the 8-year-old girl, nor for the tearful psychiatrist who told him and the audience the story. Without these details, it is difficult to investigate the claim further. Instead, the rumor is based purely on hearsay and speculation, which is why we have rated it as unfounded.
Pearsall passed away in 2007, but Snopes has reached out to the administrators of his website and will update this article if we hear back.
Snopes has fact-checked various rumors about organ transplants in the past, including claims that a man killed 27 people after getting the heart of a serial killer, that doctors purposefully let patients whom are organ donors die, that a baby could recognize its mother's heart in another body and that Mexican immigrants were forced to surrender their kidneys in order to enter the U.S.
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