2nd Human Heart Sought for Woman

A search has begun for a second donor heart for the world’s first two-time recipient of mechanical hearts, it was announced Friday.

Dr. Jack Copeland, a surgeon at the University of Arizona, said Bernadette Chayrez, 40, was a “very gutsy woman” who has been restored to essentially normal health. He said she was emotionally and physically ready for a second human heart transplant.

Chayrez, of Phoenix, has undergone surgery six times since Feb. 3 after influenza destroyed her own heart. She was listed in “serious but stable condition.”