Transplant Recipient Gives Donor Family Heartbeat Recording

MANKATO -- A southern Minnesota heart transplant recipient has given a teddy bear with a recording of her heartbeat to her organ donor's family.

Alyssa Sandeen received Kate Leekley's heart in a transplant after Leekley died in a car crash involving a drunk driver in 2013.

Sandeen recorded her heartbeat at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato on Friday. Staff used a specialized stethoscope, speaker and recording device to capture the sound of an amplified heartbeat.

Sandeen put the recording into a teddy bear and gifted it to the Leekley family Saturday, when she met Kate's mother Jennifer Leekley.

Sandeen and Jennifer Leekley also walked together Saturday in honor of Kate Leekley at a Mothers Against Drunk Driving fundraiser in Illinois.