Former 1986 Met Ed Hearn hoping fans step up to the plate for kidney donation
NEW YORK (WABC) -- On top of the world - the joy and elation of winning it all in 1986, former Met Ed Hearn has been following the current Mets run from his home in Kansas.
"We have a great owner - I'm excited for the future of this organization," said Hearn.
However, when the team celebrated the players from yesteryear during the return of the Mets' Old Timers' Day this summer, Hearn was a notable absence - this due to serious health issues.
"The main thing right now is I am losing my kidney," he says.
The 62-year-old former World Series champ has spent the last several decades as a motivational speaker and helping others - is now turning to others for help.
Hearn is in dire need of a kidney and is hoping Mets fans can step up to the plate.
"I desperately need to get a living donor transplant so I can get back in the game of life," says Hearn, "I'm in stage 5 - the end stage. There are five stages, I'm at the end. I'm feeling the effects and just need to get a donor."
As Hearn has learned - w are all teammates in life.
"I'm the one that needs help now," he says.
Hearn urgently needs a kidney donor, and if you are interested in being tested, please fill out the referal form HERE. You do not have to be the same blood type as Hearn because there is a Paired Exhange Program. In a paired exchange, the recipient in one pair is compatiible with the donor from the other pair and vice versa. The transplant center will then arrange for a 'swap,' in which each donor gives a kidney to the recipient in the other pair.
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