Poles say a heartfelt no to Chopin DNA testing

Published on Saturday 26 July 2008 20:02

THE Polish government has refused a request from scientists to DNA test the heart of composer Frederic Chopin to determine how he died.

Like a religious relic, Chopin's heart rests in a Warsaw church, untouched since it was preserved in alcohol after his death in 1849 at the age of 39.

Scientists want to remove the heart for DNA tests to see if he died from cystic fibrosis – which was not discovered until decades after he died – rather than tuberculosis, as his death certificate stated. But the government says that is not a good reason to disturb the remains.

The heart lies in a jar sealed inside a pillar at Warsaw's Holy Cross Church and the only time it has been removed was for safekeeping during the Second World War. Before it was returned in 1951, a doctor examined the heart and found it perfectly preserved in an alcohol that many think is cognac.

Chopin died and was buried in France but he asked that his heart be sent to his homeland.