Former Vice President Dick Cheney ’s heart transplant has been take a stack of attention lately . And , while the nature of Cheney ’s political career makes him an obvious target for discussion and argumentation , the Veep is definitely not the first celebrity to undergo a major organ transplant :
1 . Mandy Patinkin – Corneal TransplantsThe Tony and Emmy award - winning doer ( a.k.a . The Princess Bride ’s Inigo Montoya ) suffered for years from a degenerative centre disorder call Keratoconus . After ab initio being treat with contact lens , Patinkin ’s condition worsened to the point where a full transplantation was needed . He have the corneal transplantation in his right heart , followed by a transplanting in his left eye a year and a one-half afterward .
2 . Robert Altman – Heart TransplantThe celebrated conductor ofMASH , NashvilleandGosford Parkwas accepting a Lifetime Achievement honor at the 2006 Academy Award when he revealed for the first time that he ’d undergone a heart graft years before :
Sadly , he was awry on his estimate . He go by away after that twelvemonth from leucaemia .
3 . Natalie Cole – Kidney TransplantThe story behind Cole ’s kidney transplant is especially heart - wrenching . The instrumentalist and girl of jazz fable Nat King Cole first received news that a long - awaited kidney was uncommitted while sitting at the bed of her cancer - stricken baby . After being told she ’d have to be at the hospital within two hours to undergo the surgery , Cole made the unmanageable decision to go through with it . While the organ transplant surgical operation was successful , her sister sadly passed away while it was in procession .
4 . George Lopez – Kidney TransplantTalk about having leverage in divorce legal proceeding . In 2004 , the comedian ’s then - married woman donated one of her kidney to him . In 2011 they finalized an end to their 18 - year wedlock .
[ If you ’re concerned in learning more about becoming an organ donor , visit here . ]
