Tragedy, and Luck, Leads to Miracle Organ Transplant for Coach

ABC News' David Meyers Reports: 

Since he was diagnosed with cirrhosis five years ago, Ed Mooney knew that if he didn't get a liver transplant soon he'd be in serious danger. "I probably had a million people ahead of me. My sister got denied as a donor, my brother had his paperwork in and if I didn't [find] a donor in  him, I basically was going to stay on a list, and my surgeon said I'd keep getting sicker and sicker," Mooney told ABC News.

What the 52-year old baseball coach from Bergenfield, N.J., needed was a match, in other words, a miracle. He just never thought the miracle would come from such a tragedy. That's where Dan Glover comes in. The 24-year old was a former star wrestler at Bergenfield High School and a player on Mooney's Little League baseball team. He was the kind of player a coach never forgets. "He wasn't a big kid, but he was all heart." Mooney said.

Glover died last week from injuries he endured  in a car crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. And thanks to an unbelievable twist of fate, his liver went to his former coach. "This makes me want to live for more than one person -  for me and for Danny, and all the people who can see that miracles can happen," Mooney said from his bed at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Mooney hopes to return home this week. When he does, he'll finally have a chance to talk to Glover's family, a conversation he knows will be difficult for both sides. But Glover's sacrifice will never be forgotten by Mooney, but he knows this isn't about him. He says, "It's about the selfless act of a young kid who wanted to give life to others."

Which is exactly what Glover did. His organs went to at least 50 people.

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10 comments

  • Sam  •  3 months ago
    WOW! 50 people have been given their miracles from one person. How truly selfless on the part of not only Dan Glover but his family for being able to make that decision under such sudden and tragic circumstance. May you be blessed for this act!
  • applicant  •  3 months ago
    This story really touched me. How people, in the midst of what must be the most tragic and heartbreaking experience they've ever endured, can make such a selfless and altruistic decision just boggles the mind. Dan Glover was obviously a wonderful young man from an amazing family. Bless you all.
  • Victoria  •  3 months ago
    tragic and wonderful at the same time. thank you Dan. thanks to you donating your organs you saved or helped 50 people. Mr. Mooney, i hope all goes well for you. Dan, rest in peace.
  • Kim  •  3 months ago
    My husband has been the recipient twice of donated lungs. There really are no words to describe how grateful and thankful we are for the deeply caring and selfless act of donating your loved ones body parts. The first time they came from a 16 year-old boy. The mother of that child did this for us, strangers, in the midst of what had to have been the worse thing that can happen to a mother. When people say there are no good folks left and that the world is an ugly place now, I know its not true. There are people who walk among us that define love for humanity, and they are organ donors.
  • aug  •  St Louis, Missouri  •  3 months ago
    sign the back of your drivers license to be a donor, nothing hard about that...
  • Buddy  •  Columbia, South Carolina  •  3 months ago
    The miracle of organ donation!!! In life, you rarely have the opportunity to actually save someone's life. The selfless acts of organ donors, and especially their families, should be honored in this country every day. For every organ transplant miracle/report you read or hear about, there are hundreds you do not hear about. My heart goes out to Danny's family, but realize you have provided a true ray of sunshine and hope, in a world way too occupied with idiotic things. Organ Donors Rule!!!!
  • Kim  •  3 months ago
    DONATE LIFE!!!!
  • mom  •  3 months ago
    "Luck" has nothing to do with this miraculous story. Luck's name is GOD.
    • Buddy 3 months ago
      GOD had nothing to do with it. It was the decision of a grieving family to put other people's needs WAY before anything. GOD, or organized religion, has NEVER done that!!!
    • mom 3 months ago
      Buddy, the fact is that we did not create ourselves. Where do you think that compassion comes from? Let's face it...let to our own devices we fail miserably: it's everyone for himself. This selfless act forged out of tragedy comes from a loving, forgiving, compassionate heart. And, friend, God WAS before everything. He is, He was and He always will be. It saddens me to think that you have been jaded or hurt in the past, enough to harden your heart. The one point on which we both agree is that "organized religion" is simply man-made rules and limitations inflicted upon followers; it is legalism at it's worst. God never, ever encouraged "religion". All he asks is faith.
  • Ricky  •  Dearborn, Michigan  •  3 months ago
    Good job Yahoo for posting a great story, it been awhile.
  • Lee  •  Irvine, California  •  3 months ago
    R.I.P Dan Glover and good luck to you Mr. Mooney.