Twins legend Rod Carew underwent a successful heart transplant last December.
Carew recently sat down with former KSTP reporter Steve Hartman for an interview which will air on CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley Friday.
The piece will include interviews with the family of the donor, but the Star Tribune noted the network will not reveal the name during the interview.
However, it’s now been confirmed that the donor is former NFL tight end Konrad Reuland. Reuland passed away from a brain aneurysm last December.
The Baltimore Ravens team website noted Carew made an impact on Reuland’s life well before the transplant. When Reuland was 11 years old, he met Rod Carew at his elementary school.
Mary Reuland, Konrad’s mother, said when he came from school that day, he couldn’t stop talking about it.
Three months after Carew’s surgery, the Hall of Famer met Reuland’s family and said, “I will take care of this one because I’ve been given a second chance, and God knows how I feel and what I’m going to do for him.”
The family took turns listening to their son’s heartbeat with his mother telling Carew, “You’re part of our family now.”
Carew also got a kidney transplant at the time.
