Rod Carew Hopes His Story Can Encourage More People to Become Organ Donors
By Jordan Ison
Former Minnesota Twins 2nd baseman and Hall of Famer Rod Carew encourages more people to become organ donors after receiving a heart and kidney transplant.
Baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew knows he’s lucky to be alive. He suffered a major heart attack back in 2015 and was told he needed a heart transplant. In July, a subdural hematoma was discovered in his brain and he was told he wouldn’t be eligible for a heart transplant for a few more months.
Enter in the Reuland family. Konrad Reuland was a former NFL tight end that was passed around by a couple of teams throughout his career. He was finally released by the Colts on August 29, 2016.
On November 28, 2016, Konrad Reuland suffered a brain aneurysm. He passed away at the UCLA Medical Center on December 12, 2016. Per request, Reuland donated his organs, not knowing how important they would soon be.
Three days after the tragic death of Konrad Reuland, his legacy continued.
On December 15, 2016, Rod Carew received a heart and kidney transplant that saved his life. The heart and kidney belonged to the former Baltimore Raven and Indianapolis Colt, Konrad Reuland.
Rod Carew is now encouraging more and more people to become organ donors, admitting it saved his life.
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“I’ve got a great partner in Konrad, he’s given me a strong heart,” says Carew, “Every day the doctors came in, they would say, ‘Boy he’s roaring today.’ It’s good to be here, and hopefully we can get the word out to save more lives.”
Rod Carew isn’t the only one to be thankful for this successful organ transplant.
“I got to listen to my son’s heart again, so for me, that benefit was immense,” says Mary Reuland, mother of organ donor Konrad Reuland.
Rod Carew hopes that people will hear this story and be encouraged to also become an organ donor. He says that his life was saved by an organ donor and other lives can be saved, too.
“Just remember they’re going to play an important part in someone’s life,” Carew said in one final message, “If you ever get the opportunity to do that, why not? Life is a gift. It’s a gift from our Father upstairs. It’s a very special thing, that you can help somebody else maybe reach their goals in life that they probably wouldn’t have been able to if they didn’t have a donor or an organ donated to them.”