Tracy Morgan
We've put together a list of famous people who have received organ transplants; everything from donated livers, kidneys, corneas and hearts. In some cases, celebrity organ recipients were lucky enough to have a friend, fan, or significant other who could donate their organs to them.
In other cases, these notable people who had kidney or liver transplants got their organ from an anonymous donor. These celebrities are lucky to be alive, thanks to their organ donors!
A Diabetic Tracy Morgan received a kidney transplant from his ex-girlfriend, but not for the reason you'd think. Only two months after the surgery, he was already dating other women and flaunting it.
Sarah Hyland
Tanisha's friends told MediaTakout.com that "Tracy and Tanisha had broken up in October, and that she wanted to get back together with him. I won't say that that's the only reason she gave him the kidney, but it was a major factor".
Hyland has had a lifelong battle with kidney dysplasia and underwent a kidney transplant on April 13, 2012. The actress, who got the kidney from her father says the whole experience taught her who she can really lean on in times of need. “You know that family is always going to be there for you – no matter what.
Steve Jobs
My dad gave me a freakin kidney...But it’s also the families that you create outside of your family. And you really find out what kind of people you’re friends with.”
In 2009, Steve Jobs received a liver transplant—not in northern California where he lived, but across the country in Memphis, Tennessee. Given the general complications of both travel and a transplant, Jobs’ decision may seem like an odd choice.
George Lopez
But it was a strategic move that almost certainly got him a liver much more quickly than if Jobs had just waited for a liver to become available in California. Eight years later, the Apple founder’s procedure continues to highlight the state of transplants in the US
"I'll give you one of mine," Ann Lopez said to her husband the moment the couple learned he would need a kidney transplant. He thought she was joking.
Natalie Cole
But George Lopez, star of ABC's The George Lopez Show, is the comic, not his wife.
“Back in 2009 she received a kidney donation from a donor family that we recovered,” Tom Mone, CEO of One Legacy tells PEOPLE.
Sean Elliott
“The family made a specific request to make a direct donation to her because they knew of her need for a kidney.” Mone explains that when the donor family lost their loved one, after hearing of Cole’s illness through the media, they specifically asked if the kidney could be given to Cole, which “was a very generous thing to do.” He says the kidney saved Cole’s life.
"I was a healthy young man, and I thought I was invincible before I was diagnosed with kidney disease," says Elliott, who was an All-Star in 1993 and 1996.
Neil Simon
"I'm a prime example of the way kidney disease strikes silently." Then Elliott's brother came up with a critical assist, donating one of his kidneys to the star forward.
Simon is a film producer, playwright and screenwriter. He received a kidney from his friend in 2014.
Amy Purdy
Since his transplant, Neil has turned 87 years old and continues to enjoy the success of his many plays that have been adapted into movie screenplays.
Purdy is an athlete and an actress. She received a kidney from her father in 2000.
Alonzo Mourning
Since her transplant, Amy learned to snowboard, then won a bronze medal in the Snowboard Cross at the 2014 Winter Paralympics; before being a contestant on the television show "Dancing With The Stars."
Mourning is a retired professional basketball player. He received a kidney from an estranged cousin in 2003.
Selena Gomez
Since his transplant, Alonzo came back to play five more seasons as a center in the league and win an NBA Championship with the Miami Heat in 2006.
Selena posted a very heartfelt message for Francia, saying on Instagram... "There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me.
Mandy Patinkin
I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis."
The Tony and Emmy award-winning actor (a.k.a. The Princess Bride’s Inigo Montoya) suffered for years from a degenerative eye disorder called Keratoconus.
Gary Coleman
After initially being treated with contact lenses, Patinkin’s condition worsened to the point where a full transplant was needed. He received the corneal transplant in his right eye, followed by a transplant in his left eye a year and a half afterward.
The late Gary Coleman battled serious health issues for most of his life. He had a kidney transplant by the time he was 5 years old.
Dick Cheney
The actor's kidney began to fail as he got older, and he reportedly had a second kidney transplant at 14 years old.
In March 2012, former Vice President Dick Cheney underwent a heart transplant after more than 20 months on a transplant list.
Mickey Mantle
His aide said in a statement at the time, "Although the former Vice President and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift."
In June of 1995, the hard-drinking Yankee slugger received a controversial liver transplant, necessitated by the extensive damage done to his liver by cirrhosis and Hepatitis C.
Ken Howard
Following the procedure, Mantle delivered a plain message to the public about his years of drinking: "This is a role model: Don't be like me.” When he passed away barely two months later, the already-brewing controversy fueled by the apparent ease and speed with which Mantle received a new liver became even more hotly debated.
Howard was told his kidneys were functioning at only 30 percent. “They said, ‘We have to keep an eye on it,’ ” said Howard. Howard’s kidneys were failing, and he needed a transplant as soon as possible. “They said, ‘Do you have anyone that can be a donor?’ ” recalls Linda. “And I said, ‘Me.
Billy Graham
I’ll do it. Absolutely.’ ” Linda, whose blood type was the same as her husband’s, seemed a good match. Thanks to improvements in immuno-suppressants, “it’s no longer necessary for a donor to be closely related,” says Dr. Howard Wilkinson, director of UCLA’s kidney and transplant program. “All you need now is someone who has a compatible blood group and who is healthy.”
Graham received a liver transplant in 2002 from a 26-year-old female donor, who had died in a car crash. Graham's liver was in the cirrhosis stage at the time of his transplant.
Larry Hagman
... Afterward, he announced that he probably only had one year left to live without another liver transplant.
The late Larry Hagman, who played oil baron J.R. Ewing on "Dallas," received a liver transplant in 1995 after a small tumor was discovered.
David Crosby
He passed away in 2012.
It was 1994 when legendary rock musician David Crosby underwent a seven-hour liver transplant operation.
Robert Altman
In 2014, after having heart surgery, he said, "It seems I am once again a very lucky man."
The celebrated director of MASH, Nashville and Gosford Park was accepting a Lifetime Achievement award at the 2006 Oscars when he revealed for the first time that he'd undergone a heart transplant years before: "I'm here under false pretenses … Eleven years ago I had a heart transplant, a total heart transplant. I got the heart of, I think, a young woman who was in about in her late thirties.
Steven Cojocaru
By that kind of calculation you may be giving this award too early because I think I've got about 40 years left." Sadly, he was wrong on his estimate. He passed away later that year from leukemia.
Red-carpet fashion maven and "Today" show contributor Steven Cojocaru said that a genetic condition will require him to undergo a kidney transplant operation. Cojocaru, said he suffers from polycystic kidney disease, he revealed his illness in an interview with host Mary Hart of “Entertainment Tonight.” “I feel great, the prognosis is excellent,” Cojocaru told Hart.
Lucy Davis
He’s been assured by his doctor that after the operation, “I can climb a mountain in Nepal.” Cojocaru, being treated by Dr. Stanley Jordan of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, was diagnosed with the disease during a general checkup.
Lucy Davis was diagnosed with kidney failure during a medical examination in 1995.
Jim Nabors
Luckily, the "Wonder Woman" star received a transplant from her mother.
Actor Jim Nabors underwent transplant surgery to replace a liver being destroyed by hepatitis B. Nabors, 61-years-old, was listed in critical but stable condition after the seven-hour operation at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center.
Shelley Fabares
Nabors said he contracted hepatitis B several years ago after cutting himself shaving while traveling in India.
Actress Shelley Fabares, who appeared on ABC's long-running Coach, underwent a liver transplant surgery. Danny Chung of the Alzheimer's Association said the actress suffered a deterioration of her liver as the result of an autoimmune disorder.
He gave no other details about the operation or Fabares' condition.