The Story of a Heart is an extraordinary, compelling account of life-giving medicine. Rachel Clarke follows the journey of a human heart – and narrates one of the most miraculous developments in 20th century medicine – organ transplants.
The first of our organs to form, the last to die, the heart is both a simple pump and the symbol of all that makes us human: as long as it continues to beat. One summer day, nine-year-old Keira suffered fatal injuries in a car accident. In an act of extraordinary generosity, Keira’s parents and siblings agree that she would have wanted to be an organ donor. Meanwhile nine-year-old Max had been hospitalised for nearly a year with a virus that’s causing his young heart to fail. When Max’s parents receive the call they have been hoping for, they know it will come at a terrible cost to another family. This is the unforgettable story of how one family’s grief transformed into a lifesaving gift for another. With tremendous compassion and clarity, Dr Rachel Clarke relates the urgent journey of Keira’s heart and explores the history of the remarkable medical innovations that make organ transplants possible, stretching back over a century and involving the knowledge and dedication not just of surgeons but of countless physicians, immunologists, nurses and scientists along the way.
