Last spring, we reported that ex-NBA player Nate Robinson desperately needed a new kidney. He admitted to The Daily Mail that he feared he wouldn’t live much longer without a transplant. We are happy to report that, according to The Chronicle, the former player for the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, and Chicago Bulls, who also played for Ice Cube’s Brainchild, BIG3, announced that he would be getting his transplant at the University of Washington Medical Center.
Having his operation at the University of Washington Medical Center meant he came home to do it. Robinson, 40, was a “Husky” star and a point guard for their team.
As a reminder, Black men comprise 17% of all chronic kidney disease cases.
Robinson has had a long journey. In October 2022, he announced that he had been battling renal failure for four years. However, he discovered his kidneys were an issue as early as 2005, but he went on to have an 11-season career.
After his surgery, Robinson told CNN through his agent, Polo Kerber, “I’m thankful for my doctors, the University of Washington, my family, my donor, and his family. Kerber added that Robinson was already feeling and looking better post-surgery and was up and walking around.
According to ESPN, Robinson received his new kidney from a live donor during hours-long transplant surgery. After the former Three-Time Dunk Champ made his plight public, he learned the University of Washington was flooded with offers from people willing to donate their kidneys.
Last fall, Robinson went through a series of preparatory procedures, including a colonoscopy, as the doctors whittled down the number of potential donors. And he found one in a man named Shane Cleveland, who Robinson has called “family at first sight.”
Shane says he has found another mother in Nate’s mom, Renee Busch.
If Robinson had it to do all over again, he would have sat out his rookie year and gotten a kidney then, but hindsight is always 20-20. But after waiting so long for a kidney, Robinson told ESPN he wasn’t planning to take it for granted.
“Later on in life, when I get a kidney, I’m going to be looking back, like, ‘Damn, I really went through all this,’” he said. “That kidney I get, I’m going to cherish it. I’m going to treat it like a baby. I’m going to do everything I’m supposed to do.”
