Overview
- The former MMA champion and Olympic wrestler received the operation on June 30 and is now in recovery under medical supervision.
- He had been hospitalized since June 7 with severe pneumonia from a staph infection and depended on ECMO and ventilator support.
- He was added to the transplant waiting list on June 24 following days on life support that convinced doctors his lungs could not recover.
- His wife, Amy Askren, has provided regular condition updates and publicly thanked the donor’s family for the lifesaving gift.
- Fundraising efforts have raised over $500,000 to cover medical costs after his insurer refused to pay for the transplant.