Organ transplants may have unexpected consequences: recipients’ tastes for food, sex, and their personality change

Recipients of donor organs report that after the transplant they develop ‘new’ memories and their sexual preferences and tastes in art, food and music change

Several theories have been advanced to explain such personality changes, based on psychology, biochemistry, even the idea of transfer by electromagnetic field

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Research suggests that organ transplant recipients may undergo personality and other changes that reflect the experiences of their organ donors. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:15am, 11 Apr 2024Updated: 4:47am, 11 Apr 2024

Organ transplants save lives – but, a recent study suggests, they may also come with an unexpected side effect: profound personality changes.

The paper, “Personality Changes Associated with Organ Transplants”, published in the medical journal Transplantology in January, discusses how a number of transplant recipients have experienced major, long-lasting changes in their thoughts, actions and behaviour.

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in the United States set out to investigate whether personality changes occur after a patient has an organ transplant, and specifically, what types of changes heart transplant recipients experience and if they differed from recipients of other organs.

The study’s 47 participants – 23 heart recipients and 24 other organ recipients – completed an online survey. It showed that 89 per cent of all transplant recipients reported personality changes following their transplant surgery, with no significant difference between heart and other organ recipients.

Mitch Liester is a medical doctor and an author of the paper. Photo: LinkedIn

The personality changes they reported involved shifts in preferences for food, music, art, intimacy, leisure activities and professional pursuits. Some individuals experienced “new” memories, a heightened social and sexual adaptability, enhanced cognitive capabilities and spiritual or religious events.