Woman who received heart valves from pig and cow finally gets a human valve

A 31-year-old who had been suffering from a congenital heart defect has finally been able to lead a normal life due to a donor's generosity.

The woman, Brave Robyn Cairney, has had multiple heart surgeries since 2009. The doctors at Golden Jubilee Hospital, in Clydebank, near Glasgow initially replaced her narrowing aortic valve with a pig's. But the pig valve began to fail within a few years.

Cairney was again operated on in 2014, and this time the pig valve was replaced with a cow's, according to a report in The Mirror. After the surgery, she began leading a normal life and went back to Teesside University to complete her final year of studies in sports therapy.

She also became a further education studies teacher, specialising in human anatomy. Cairney was also able to do the "Great North Run" to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation in 2019 and 2021.

Shortly after, the cow valve also failed and Cairney had to be admitted to the emergency ward of a local hospital in May this year.

"I remember sitting on the sofa chatting to friends when suddenly I collapsed and blacked out." The doctors performed an open-heart surgery on June 8 this year and the cow valve was finally replaced with a human heart valve.

"I've got two heart valves replaced now. one using one of mine, and another from a stranger, which I'm extremely grateful for," said the woman.

"The pulmonary valve takes less pressure so it responds better with having a human donor valve. Whereas the aortic valve takes a lot of pressure so it responds better to using my own tissue," Cairney added.

The doctors released her from hospital on June 15 and she has since been recovering. She said: "I'm looking forward to 2023 and hoping for a much healthier and less stressful year ahead."