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Warning: This article shows pictures of a human heart and could be distressing for some people.
Brave transplant patient Jessica Manning has revealed how she was recently stopped by airport security – because she was taking her old heart through Customs.
Manning, 30 – who underwent a doubleheart and liver transplant eight years ago – was moving from New Zealand to Australia and had the organ in her hand baggage when she was stopped by officials.
She recounted how workers wanted to rule out any cross-border health hazards, but let her continue on her journey after she revealed her story and past medical history.
Manning said: “So I was there for about an hour trying to get this dang heart through to Australia.”
Jessica Manning, 30 - who underwent a double heart and liver transplant eight years ago - was moving from New Zealand to Australia and had her old heart in her hand baggage when she was stopped by border officials. Photo / @jessica.elenanz / Caters News
“I have it now though, and it’s safe in my wardrobe.”
Manning, originally from New Zealand, was born with six heart defects, which led to her having multiple heart surgeries growing up, her first three open heart surgeries occurring when she was aged 5 months, then 3 and 6 years old.
This eventually resulted in a full heart and liver transplant.
“When I was 19, I went into heart failure. And then when I was 22, I was diagnosed with liver disease.”
Jessica Manning was born with six heart defects, which led to her having multiple heart surgeries growing up. Photo / @jessica.elenanz / Caters News
“The liver disease was due to a procedure I had when I was 3 years old.
“In December 2016, I was assessed for heart and liver transplant, but because it had not been done in New Zealand or Australia on someone born with heart issues, it took them a long time to decide whether it was something that they were willing to risk.
Jessica Manning underwent a double heart and liver transplant eight years ago - she's pictured here after surgery in 2016. Photo / @jessica.elenanz / Caters News
“I ended up being put on the transplant list in April 2017 and I waited 16 months for my transplant.”
During this time, Manning was told she would live only two more years if she did not have a double organ transplant. In 2018, she started a petition that sought to make organ donation mandatory in New Zealand – an act she said would save lives and help mitigate the uncertainty involved in organ donations and transplants.
Once she received a new heart and liver, Manning told the Herald she didn’t know what “normal” felt like until her transplants.
“I feel amazing. I can’t even remember what normal feels like because I’ve never been normal,” Manning said in 2019.
“I’ve always had the struggles of breathing and not doing [certain actions] because I can’t breathe, and now I can actually breathe.
Jessica Manning vaccuum-sealed her heart in a bag in order to take it through airport security. Photo / @jessica.elenanz / Caters News
“Everyone asks me, ‘What’s the best part about having the transplant?’, and I just say, ‘I can breathe’.”
After her transplant, Manning, who works as a teacher, decided to keep her heart. She explained: “In New Zealand, due to the Māori culture, they firmly believe that you should be returned to the body the way God created you, so we do get the option of keeping our organs.”
“I’m not Māori, but I still think that the belief is really cool, but I actually donated both my organs to medical research and science, so that is why I don’t have my liver – because it went to a university for studies about liver cirrhosis.”
However, that wasn’t the last she’d see of her heart. She said: “About 10 months later, I received a call stating they no longer needed my heart and asking if I wanted it back.”
“I said yes because I wanted to bury it on a property that meant something to me, so maybe the first house I buy, and then I wanted to plant a tree on top.”
Manning was told workers wanted to rule out any cross-border health hazards, but they let her continue on her journey after she revealed her story and past medical history. Photo / @jessica.elenanz / Caters News
Manning recently moved from New Zealand to Australia, and that’s where she encountered problems with security.
She explained the encounter with airport security when they saw her heart in a bag: “He didn’t quite know what to do with it so he went to go talk to his boss, and this is when my tears started, because the guy was as nice as he could be and I understand he was just being very cautious.
“His main issue was that I was [potentially] bringing in a new disease to the country and he didn’t want me to bring in something that was a hazard to Australia.
