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Baltimore Ravens: Former Tight End’s Heart Donated to MLB Legend Rod Carew

By Ben Palmer

Aug 17, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets tight end Konrad Reuland (88) is brought down by Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker LaRoy Reynolds (56) during the third quarter of a preseason game at MetLife Stadium. The Jets defeated the Jaguars 37-13. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 17, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets tight end Konrad Reuland (88) is brought down by Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker LaRoy Reynolds (56) during the third quarter of a preseason game at MetLife Stadium. The Jets defeated the Jaguars 37-13. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Baltimore Ravens tight end Konrad Reuland tragically died in December at just 29-years-old, but his heart helped save MLB legend Rod Carew’s life.

Former Baltimore Ravens tight end Konrad Reuland was running on a treadmill back in November. He started having a severe headache that was the result of a brain aneurysm.

The aneurysm required surgery, but unfortunately, complications from that surgery lead to him entering a coma from which he would ultimately never wake up.

Cut to: Hall-of-Famer Rod Carew, who suffered a heart attack on a golf course back in 2015. He was given a mechanical heart device, however that device wasn’t exactly working properly, so Carew needed a new heart.

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That’s where Reuland comes in. His family had to make a decision: either hope that he somehow would come out of his coma (which was highly unlikely), or pull the plug and allow his heart (and other vital organs) to save someone else’s life.

They chose the latter, and it was that decision that helped Rod Carew get a new heart, as well as a new kidney. The Reuland family was not specifically told who received Konrad’s heart, but they dug a bit and figured it out.

The American Heart Association released an article entitled “How Rod Carew learned his new heart and kidney came from an NFL player”, which details exactly how the Reuland family discovered Carew was the man their son’s heart and kidney went to.

Eventually, the Reuland and Carew family met, and the American Heart Association released a couple videos of the meeting:

As well as video of the Reuland’s being able to listen to their son’s heart beating in Carew’s chest through a stethoscope:

It’s a truly incredible story of how something so tragic, the death of a 29-year-old man, can lead to something amazing.

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