Scot Pollard is opening up about his lifesaving heart transplant.
In an ESPN documentary titled Heart of Pearl, the former NBA player and Survivor alum shared that he received a heart transplant in February 2024 and was recently able to meet his donor's family to thank them in person.
"I'm really attached to this heart," Pollard he said in the hospital prior to the transplant, according to ESPN. "I feel like it's the best one. That's the one I was born with. And the biggest fear is that the next one isn't going to be good enough."
Pollard, 50, was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart disease, after falling ill in 2021. His father died from the disease while waiting for a heart transplant when Pollard was just 16 years old.
Ultimately, Pollard was matched with donor Casey Angell, who died at age 45 from pneumonia. Pollard calls Angell a "hero."
"You're losing your best friend," his wife Pamela Angell said. "But somebody else is gaining your best friend, in a way."
Though Pollard's donor remained anonymous to him at first, he eventually learned his donor’s identity by writing a letter to his family five months after his successful procedure through a program facilitated by his hospital.
"I live in Indiana and I'm writing this letter to express mine and my family's unending appreciation for your loved one's gift of life," Scot wrote, per the note obtained by ESPN. "My wife, myself, our four children, our extended family and friends are all forever grateful!"
"We would love the opportunity to meet at some point if you're amenable to that idea," the letter continued. "We want to let you know that your loved one's heart is going to be loved and cared for and will give love back."
"Your loved one is our hero and he will live on forever through me and our efforts of getting more people to be selfless heroes like him," the letter ended. "If you don't feel comfortable responding, I completely understand. I just wanted you to know my lifelong appreciation for him. He truly is my hero."
Pollard and Pamela met in person in March 2025, with Pamela using a stethoscope to listen to her late husband's heartbeat.
"What we hope for moving forward," Pollard said, "is just that I can keep living a good life because of their gift."
Pollard played with for the Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers in the NBA for 11 years and was a contestant on Survivor: Kaoh Rong which aired in 2016.
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