Tag: Alonzo Mourning

Active Athletes, Artists, Academics All Illustrate After-Transplant Benefits

Riddle: What has three transplanted organs and works full time in a demanding, important career into her seventies?

Answer: Elizabeth (Betsy) Crais, my co-author and friend–the academic energizer bunny–whose retirement party I just attended at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Betsy Crais (right, looking the picture of heath) had a kidney transplant in 2004 and a kidney-liver transplant in 2021.

In addition to her regular responsibilities as a professor and researcher, Betsy has taken on numerous roles such as leading a professional association, mentoring students, writing for publication, and more.

Impressive with or without a transplant! It occurred to me that you’ve probably seen stories about athletes who are transplant recipients and have gone back onto the court (Alonzo Mourning went on to win an NBA championship) or singers who’ve gone back on tour or into the studio (think Stevie Wonder), or actors who’ve gone back onto the stage or film set (think Selena Gomez).

But there are many more professors, researchers, contractors, plumbers, lawyers, gardeners–people you pass unknowingly throughout your day–who have been able to lead a full, productive, and rewarding life thanks to an organ donor. It may have even been a living donor (Betsy’s first kidney transplant was from a university colleague friend) or a deceased one (Betsy’s second was a dual kidney and liver transplant from a deceased donor).

Organ transplants give recipients like my son, Paul, a second–sometime a third or more–chance at a full life. If you’re not already registered as an organ donor, please take a couple of minutes to sign up (at organdonor.gov or many other sites).

For related posts, resources, and information on The Insider’s Guide to Living Kidney Donation, be sure to explore the rest of my website.

Alonzo Mourning had a kidney transplant in 2003, returned to the court in 2004, and helped win an NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006.
Paul Offen (my son/recipient) had his kidney transplant in 2006.
Actress/singer Selena Gomez had a kidney transplant in 2017.

Stevie Wonder had his kidney transplant at the end of 2019.

Celebrity Kidney Recipients: Please Share Your Stories!

They’re athletes, actors, and musicians of different ages, races, and ethnicities. So, what do the celebrities listed below have in common? They’re all healthier, and very likely happier, because a living kidney donor gave them a shot at a better quality of life. The best way to shorten someone’s wait for an organ–rich or poor, famous or not–is to find a living donor. Sometimes it’s a biological family member who steps up–sometimes it’s a future or former partner. And sometimes it’s a Good Samaritan, who chooses to donate to an unknown person in need.

Fortunately, some of these famous live-kidney transplant recipients have become spokespersons for National Kidney Foundation campaigns, and some, like former NBA star Alonzo Mourning, comic George Lopez, and former NFL star John Brockington have gone so far as to launch their own kidney disease awareness foundations. (Did you know that my dear WELD [Women Encouraging Living Donation] started as an offshoot of the John Brockington Foundation before joining forces with Donate Life?)

Other celebrities have individually turned to the media to share their personal transplant experiences. Singer Selena Gomez and her donor, actress Francia Raisa, gave several helpful major interviews in 2019 about Gomez’s transplant, shedding light on the donation process and the aftermath. And actress Sarah Hyland candidly shared details of her two kidney transplants, first from her father and most recently from her brother, and of her struggles with depression.

Even though chronic kidney disease is more common than breast cancer or prostate cancer, the general public knows very little about it. If more celebrities who’ve been touched by kidney disease and transplant would openly talk about their life-changing stories, it could encourage more people to have their kidneys checked, register as organ donors, and even consider being living donors. All those actions would go a long way toward reducing the years-long wait for a kidney and ultimately saving more lives. By the way, celebrity status and money offer no privileges on the national waiting lists for a deceased donor.

How many of these celebrities did you know had had kidney transplants (the year of their transplant is next to each name)?

Stevie Wonder 2019

Ed Kranepool 2019

Selena Gomez  2017

Tina Turner 2017

Sarah Hyland 2012 and 2017

Tracy Morgan 2010

George Lopez 2005

Alonzo Mourning 2003

John Brockington 2002

Sean Elliott 1999

 I wish them all continued good health with their adopted kidney. My son has had more than 14 years with his (that is, mine).