It's interesting, these new theories of "genomic imprinting." That's the idea that what we inherit goes beyond the physical and that our habits, tendencies, talents, spirituality and so forth can be imprinted on sub-elements of DNA.

In other words, it isn't all in the famous letter coding ("A,U,G,C,A,U,A,C...").

Some are coming to believe that a single set of parents can somehow change the way genes are "expressed."

Interesting stuff.

One is led to wonder, beyond even "sub-DNA," or a change in gene expression, if spiritual hereditary also plays a role.

One prominent deliverance expert, Bob Larson, suggests that whatever our beliefs about this, organs and blood be blessed before they enter the body (something that can be done even at a distance).

"Curses associated with blood transfusions and organ transplants: sometimes people ask me about the possibility of inheriting a curse from an unrelated person by means of a blood transfusion or an organ transplant," he asserts (in his book, Curse Breaking).

"The Bible does not explicitly prohibit blood transfusions or organ transplants, because such things were impossible to medical science when the Bible was written. Scripture does say that 'the blood is the life' (Deuteronomy 12:23). We know that the blood of another person would always accompany a donated transplant organ, and we know that curses are carried, in the 'bloodline. Once when I was hospitalized, I received a blood transfusion. The order came at night when I was alone. I immediately called my wife so we could agree together in prayer that the blood I was about to receive would have every curse broken from it. If I were to receive an organ transplant, I would pray in the same way, I would trust God to break every curse attached to the organ or blood so that I could gladly receive the organ, assured that the power of God's Word can shatter every curse."

Prayer never hurts.

Admittedly, there are some interesting aspects of organ transplants, including reports -- from medical researchers -- that in certain cases the characteristics and personality traits of deceased donors seemingly exhibit themselves in recipients. Food preferences and even sudden musical ability, or altered speech patterns (a higher vocabulary or knowing a foreign language), have been reported.

Is it just coincidence? Imagination? Recipient anxiety [see here]? Can spirits attach to an organ as they can to anything else they "owned"?

We can imagine a lot of things.

When there is precise knowledge of what should not have been knowable, however, when a sudden change occurs in a recipient, one linked to the donor, it garners our attention.

"In an example, an eight-year-old girl received the heart of a murdered ten-year-old and began having terrifying dreams about a man murdering her donor," reported a newspaper. "Until then, the murderer had not been caught, but recollections from the girl's dream were so precise that police were able to track down the killer and he was convicted. Mr. David Waters, from Adelaide [Australia], had been suffering from a stiffening of the heart ventricles and been given only a few months to live when he was given the heart of Kaden Delaney [she died in a car crash], from New South Wales. But despite his belief that he might have 'caught' donor Kaden craving for the snack food, a transplant expert cautioned against reading too  much into the link. Jeremy Chapman, Sydney-based president of the International Transplantation Society, said: 'There is no scientific basis of such a claim. 'There's so much fiction around transplants.' But other researchers say the phenomenon, which is known as 'cellular memory,' is not limited to those who have received new hearts."

Just the fare of tabloids?

[resources: Curse Breaking: Freedom From the Bondage of Generational Sin,]

[See also: Woman's heart, spirit beat on in organ recipient]

[Note also: Michael Brown retreats: Connecticut and Retreats in L.A., Santa Barbara]

[resources: The Spirits Around Us and An Exorcist Tells His Story]

[Note: The Vatican has said that both transplant and transfusions are okay and at times has even encouraged organ donation.  There are Christians who have questioned the Holy See's stand, including medical personnel who are concerned that organs are taken when a person is medically but perhaps not absolutely dead: brain dead, but still existing on equipment such as respirators. Yet, few are those who would not want a transplant if their lives depended on it. The only approach to any medical decision is prayer.]