Former New York Jets center Nick Mangold revealed he needs a kidney transplant – and he’s asking for the public’s help.
“This isn’t an easy message to share, but I want to be open about what’s been happening with me and my health,” Mangold, 41, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, October 14. “In 2006, I was diagnosed with a genetic defect that has led to chronic kidney disease. After a rough summer, I’m undergoing dialysis as we look for a kidney transplant. I always knew this day would come, but I thought I would have more time.”
Mangold — a two-time All Pro selection who played 11 seasons for the Jets between 2006 and 2016 — explained he doesn’t have “any family able to donate at this time.”
The former Jets star and his wife, Jenny, share four children: son Matthew, 14, daughter Eloise, 11, son Thomas, 9, and daughter Charlotte, 7.
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“I am in need of a kidney donor with type O blood,” Mangold wrote.
Mangold directed anybody “willing to find out if you could be a match and donate a kidney to me” to a Columbia University website about kidney donation.
On the website, interested applicants are asked to fill out a quick 5-10 minute questionnaire to get the potential donation process started.
“I am deeply grateful to anyone that would consider donating,” Mangold said. “Most of all, I’m thankful for my family, who have been my rock every step of the way. This situation has reminded me how lucky I am to have such an amazing family, friends, and community behind me.”
Mangold concluded, “While this has been a tough stretch, I’m staying positive and focused on the path ahead. I’m looking forward to better days and getting back to full strength soon.”
In an interview with the New York Post on Tuesday, Mangold admitted he was not prepared for the immediacy with which he’d need help.
“I assumed I’d be like 60 or so before it came up, but it’s reared its ugly head now, sooner than I thought it would,” he said.
“Over the summer I had lost about 35 pounds over two months, and my red blood cell count dropped to about half of what is supposed to be normal,” Mangold explained. “I was very fatigued and having dizzy spells and nausea and everything and so I went to the doctor.”
The doctor told Mangold he needed to go on dialysis without any hesitation.
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“Getting told to go to the hospital immediately was not a great phone call to get,” he recalled. “I don’t particularly like surgery, so that’s always scary. You put the trust in the doctors’ hands.”
Mangold initially did three rounds of dialysis at Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, New Jersey, in August, before switching to an outpatient dialysis center where he goes three times a week.
“I’m better than I was in August,” Mangold said. “I’m back to being a functioning human, which is great. Doing dialysis three times a week, it’s a taxing experience.”
Moving forward, Mangold expressed optimism about attacking the next steps in his process “with the same mentality that I had throughout my career.”
