Meet the Transplant Recipient with Same Heart for 35 Years

When asked, 9-year-old Sylvia Rose James Zinn proudly states all four of her names. Early on in Sylvia’s life, her father explained the significance of the third one – James. It honors the first name of the 20-year-old man who died in a car accident in Lorain, Ohio, but whose heart has given Ryan Zinn life for 35 years and counting.

“Sylvia has come to embrace the significance of organ donation, and that's all I could ever ask is that she appreciates her story because of James,” says Ryan. “It's important for us to tell our story so others consider becoming an organ donor and leave a legacy just like James did.”

Ryan, now 51, is the oldest living individual to receive a heart transplant, as an adolescent, in the state of Ohio. No other adolescent transplant recipient, since Oct. 1, 1987, has lived longer.*

A wiry, 15-year-old football and basketball player in 1988, Ryan was diagnosed with a form of cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle that causes it to swell and hampers its ability to pump blood.

“When we went to Cleveland Clinic Children’s, we found out that my heart and pericardium (the membrane enclosing it) were the size of a football,” recalls Ryan. “They’re supposed to be the size of a fist.”

Ryan and his parents, Roy and Barbara, faced two choices – rely on a cocktail of medications to try and heal the heart or pursue a heart transplant.

“Transplants at that time were not common, especially heart transplants,” says Ryan. “So, we decided to play it safe. I accepted the fact that I would walk through life from that point forward, and that was OK. Because the transplant was a scary unknown.”

A few months later, Ryan awakened one morning to find his skin was yellow, a sign of heart-induced jaundice. Ryan’s doctors changed his medicines but nothing worked, and Ryan steadily became more tired. He couldn’t go to school and was losing weight drastically. “I would listen to the TV with my eyes closed because I didn’t have the energy to open them,” he adds.

Soon after, he suffered a minor stroke and was rushed to Cleveland Clinic Children’s. Ryan and his parents again had two choices. One was to help him live as comfortably as possible for as long as possible, likely six months or less. The second was for Ryan to undergo a heart transplant. “My parents and I said we’re not going to quit. Let’s get on the heart transplant waiting list,” says Ryan.

Given his dire condition, Ryan didn’t have to wait long. Seventeen days later, a match was found and James’ heart was rushed to Cleveland Clinic Children’s, where Robert Stewart, MD, performed the delicate surgery on Sept. 26, 1988.

Ryan recalls waking up and feeling warm for the first time in months. “I finally had blood going through my body, and I was pink again – not a ghostly gray. That was the beginning of my new life,” says Ryan.

The day after he was discharged from the hospital, Ryan returned to high school. Six weeks later, he was back in the weight room. He rejoined the track team as a sprinter that January, and at his first 100-meter race during a meet that Spring, he recalls, “I was dead last, but I finished. That was the first day I really felt normal.” Three years later, he was part of the 4×100-meter relay team that broke their high school’s record.

Not much has slowed him down in the more than three decades that have followed. Ryan is a three-time graduate of The Ohio State University and continues working at his alma mater today. He also regularly competes in the Transplant Games of America and the World Transplant Games. He has garnered more than 50 gold, silver and bronze medals in a variety of track events as well as table tennis, basketball and badminton. Ryan continues to be thankful for his donor, who’s allowed him to continue living life to the fullest.

“I would be nothing without James. I would not be here without him. James has afforded me 35 wonderful years and counting. I was able to meet the love of my life, get married to her and have this amazing young lady as our daughter,” says Ryan. “These 35 years since my transplant have flown by. Life has been so full and rich because of what this donation has allowed me to do.”

Ryan says he’s not experienced any complications with his heart since undergoing the transplant in 1988. He credits his success to his care team being able to find the right donor for him. Ryan also continues to prioritize a healthy lifestyle and regularly checks in with his doctors, including cardiologist Sanjeeb Bhattacharya, MD.

"Ryan has done an incredible job caring for his transplanted heart. Surviving 35 years post-cardiac transplant is an extremely rare event," says Dr. Bhattacharya "Ryan's success is a testament to how he has cared for himself. His care team has also been crucial to his success."

 Ryan adds, “A big part of my success over these 35 years is Cleveland Clinic. My care team has been with me every step of the way, and they've been fantastic."

Wanting to help others, Ryan continues volunteering to support and counsel patients who have undergone transplants at Cleveland Clinic and elsewhere. Ryan also hopes he can show the importance of organ donation by sharing his story.

“For those considering becoming an organ donor, I encourage them to think about a story like mine and how much of an impact one donor and his family have been able to make. It's remarkable, and the legacy James has left is amazing. Every single one of my transplant anniversaries is special because it's one I wouldn't have had without my donor,” says Ryan.

*Heart transplants performed since 10/1/1987 for recipients aged 10-19 (adolescent) who have not been retransplanted and who have not been reported to have died per Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network or verified from external sources.