Patrick Junker
3804 Days
Gerd Kuck was 27 years old when he was diagnosed with an incurable heart muscle inflammation. In 2000, he suffered a heart attack which forced him to live with a pacemaker with defibrillator function. Since April 2008, Gerd Kuck has been on the waiting list for a new heart. His chances were bad: He’s 1.96 meters, needs a big heart. With his blood type 0 positive, he competes with many patients. In 2013, he almost died, so the doctors transplanted him with an artificial heart. He marries again, gets a daughter, builds a house. In November 2017, at 51, it becomes clear that he won’t survive with his artificial heart. In Germany, with 797 organ donors a year, the number has fallen to a historic low in 2017. On 5 September 2018, after 3804 days of waiting, he had a transplant with success.
