Donor Hero

I was born on April 28, 1979 in Miami, Florida, to Ancel Pratt Sr. and Shirley A. Pratt. I was the third child/son out of six (there are 5 sons and 1 daughter). From a young age, my parents instilled a passion in my siblings and I to give back. That passion continued throughout my young adult years. Some of the simple ways I thought to give back was by donating blood and platelets on a regular basis, and volunteering at the local community center while in college.

Shortly after college, while working for the Miami HEAT, I participated in a Meet & Greet experience with some of the players and a Wish Kid from Make-A-Wish Foundation. This experience inspired me to become a registered organ donor.

In the summer of 2010, I received a call from my mother with a bit of shocking news. She shared that after years of taking kidney treatment medication, her doctors told her that it had reached the point where she would have to receive a kidney transplant.

The transplant center said the best-case scenario to finding the best match would be to test relatives with the same blood type, and would be willing to give her the gift of life. Without hesitation, I was the first in line to be tested and was ruled the best match for the surgery.

On August 23rd, 2012, my mother and I had a successful kidney transplant surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital and are both living very happy and healthy lives.