A survivor of a massive heart attack, leg amputation, and cancer, Jessica Melore survived for nine months on an experimental battery-operated mechanical heart assist device before receiving a life-saving heart transplant. Jessica went on to graduate from Princeton University and is now the Senior Education & Programs Manager at NJ Organ and Tissue Sharing Network. She is also a spokesperson for the American Heart Association and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Jessica’s heart donor, Shannon Eckert, is also being honored with a floragraph on the Rose Parade float this year. “It’s an honor for me to ride in Shannon’s memory,” said Jessica. “She was only a year older than me when she passed. I try to take the best possible care of my heart because I feel like I’m living for both of us.”

Jessica's Story

At age 16, Jessica Melore was a high school senior and tennis team co-captain. She also suffered a massive heart attack. Within hours, last rites were performed for her; she was not expected to live through the night. For the next nine months, Jessica lived on an experimental, battery-operated mechanical assist device as she awaited a heart transplant. Additional complications included the amputation of her left leg above the knee and the fear that she could have suffered permanent brain damage due to lack of oxygen to her brain.

Just days before graduation, Jessica received a new heart. She began her freshman year at Princeton University just three months later. She faced additional hurdles, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and became a two-time survivor of the disease. Jessica went on to be named one of Glamour magazine’s “Top 10 College Women” of 2002. Her amazing story of courage and determination has been what the TV show Extra! called “an inspirational tale of survival that gives us all hope.”

From the time she was placed among thousands on the heart transplant waiting list, Jessica was inspired to help others overcome adversity as a motivational speaker and public health advocate. Over the past 12 years, she has spoken internationally to audiences from 10 to 10,000 people as a motivational speaker (www.jessicamelore.com). As Senior Education and Programs Manager at the NJ Organ and Tissue Sharing Network, Jessica helped foster an unprecedented relationship with the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission and later collaborated to develop the state’s first online donor registry.

She serves on the board of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the National Kidney Foundation’s TransAction Executive Committee, and has been a spokesperson for the American Heart Association and American Cancer Society. Now 28, Jessica is also a founding member of Harboring Hearts Housing, a non-profit dedicated to providing affordable housing to cardiac patients and their families during a time of need.

Jessica’s heart donor, Shannon Eckert, is also being honored with a floragraph on the Rose Parade float this year. “It’s an honor for me to ride in Shannon’s memory,” said Jessica. “She was only a year older than me when she passed, and I often think about how we were in the same stage of life when our lives became connected. I try to take the best possible care of my heart because I feel like I’m living for both of us."

Jessica’s heart transplant has allowed her to zip-line through the forests of Costa Rica, climb to the top of the Parthenon, and walk the Great Wall of China.

“The most meaningful part of my experience is the people I’ve had the chance to meet through my speaking and advocacy work,” she confirmed. “Adversity manifests itself in different ways, and everyone has those moments of fear or vulnerability. When you can really connect with someone, it’s a profound feeling of shared understanding and what it means to be human. The greatest compliment I can ever receive is when someone registers to be a donor after hearing my story.”