A transplant patient has revealed how airport security stopped her because she was taking her old heart through customs.
Jessica Manning, 30, who underwent a double heart and liver transplant eight years ago, was moving from New Zealand to Australia and carried the organ in her hand luggage.
He said he had to declare his heart to officials in person, as there was no option for “human remains” on the incoming passenger card.
Manning said she had “never felt so anxious” as she showed the border official the now pale organ in a vacuum-sealed bag.
Jessica Manning, 30, New Zealand, revealed how airport security recently stopped her because she was taking her old heart through customs.
She kept the preserved heart (pictured) at her side after a life-saving double transplant in 2019 and was cleared through customs after explaining her story.
“He didn’t really know what to do with him, so he went to talk to his boss,” he said.
“That’s when they started crying because the guy was as nice as could be and I understand he was just being very cautious.
The teacher was held for about an hour while border officials ruled out any health risks with the abnormal finding before letting her pass.
‘His main problem was that I was bringing a new disease to the country, and he didn’t want me to bring something that would be a danger to Australia.
“But I am glad that everything has been cleared up and I have been allowed to continue my journey, and I still have my old heart with me.”
Ms Manning was born with sexual heart defects, which led to multiple heart surgeries as a child and her heart failing at age 19 before her liver failed three years later.
This ultimately resulted in a complete heart and liver transplant.
Airport security didn’t know what to do when the woman with the heart arrived
She told how the workers wanted to rule out any cross-border health dangers, but let her continue her journey after she revealed her story and medical history.
She said: ‘When I was 19, I suffered a cardiac arrest. And then when I was 22, I was diagnosed with liver disease. The liver disease was due to a procedure I had when I was three years old.
‘In December 2016, I was assessed for a heart and liver transplant, but as it had not been done in New Zealand or Australia on someone who was born with heart problems, it took them a long time to decide if it was something they were willing to do. risk.
“I ended up on the transplant list in April 2017 and waited 16 months to receive my transplant.”
The teacher revealed that New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world that allows transplant patients to keep their discarded organs.
He explained that indigenous Maori cultures have a strong belief that one should be buried in the same way they were brought into this world.
“So we have the option of preserving our organs so we can bury them with us and be completely buried.”
Jessica, originally from New Zealand, was born with six heart defects that led her to undergo multiple heart surgeries while growing up.
Jessica photographed as a newborn after doctors discovered she had heart problems
‘I’m not Māori, but I still think the belief is really cool, but I actually donated both of my organs to medical research and science, which is why I don’t have my liver because I went to a university to do liver studies. cirrhosis.’
However, that was not the last time he saw her heart.
‘About 10 months later, I received a call, telling me they no longer needed my heart and asked if I wanted it back.
“I said yes because I wanted to bury it in a property that meant something to me, so maybe it will be the first house I ever bought and then I wanted to plant a tree on top of it.”
