Donor heart found for NBA champion, 'Survivor' contestant Scot Pollard

A heart donor has been found for NBA champion and “Survivor” contestant Scot Pollard

A heart donor has been found for NBA champion and “Survivor” contestant Scot Pollard, his wife said on social media on Friday.

“It’s go time!” Dawn Pollard posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Please keep the prayers coming for Scot, the surgeons, for the donor and his family who lost their loved one. This donor gave the most amazing gift of life and we are forever grateful.”

Pollard, who turned 49 on Monday, needed a transplant because of a genetic condition that was likely triggered by a virus he caught in 2021. The same condition killed his father, who died at 54.

Pollard's size complicated efforts to find a donor with a heart big enough to fit his 6-foot-11, 260-pound body. He was admitted to intensive care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Feb. 7.

“I’m staying here until I get a heart,” he said in a text message to The Associated Press from his Nashville, Tennessee, hospital room. “My heart got weaker. (Doctors) agree this is my best shot at getting a heart quicker.”