Love heals

The famous Russian cardiologist Vladimir Almazov had a human heart in a jar of alcohol in his office.

Many wondered why.

But he explained it to his students using an old photograph - two people, young, in love, at their wedding - and told a true story that combines medicine and humanity in a touching way.

In the 1950s, when Almazov himself was still a medical student in St. Petersburg, a young woman called Marina was admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of subacute bacterial endocarditis. The prognosis: hopeless. Her heart was weakened, her fever incessant. No one believed she could be saved.

But there was a young assistant doctor - Sergej, quiet, hard-working, dedicated. He couldn't cure her illness. But he fell in love with her.

Day after day, he came to her bedside, talked to her, brought her flowers. And at some point, Marina's heart began to struggle. Her values improved, her strength returned and she made a full recovery against all medical expectations.

A short time later, they got married. The famous photo was taken on their wedding day - with Almazov as a guest. They started a family and lived together for many years.

Decades later, Marina - now old and seriously ill - was dying. Her last words to the doctors:

"I would like to bequeath my heart to the medical faculty in Saint Petersburg. As a reminder that a sick heart can be healed by a loving heart."

And it was precisely this heart that stood in Almasov's office. Not as a medical
specimen - but as a symbol of what neither science nor technology can replace: L o v e.