Former Kentucky men's basketball head coach Billy Gillispie needs a kidney transplant as soon as possible, he told the Dallas Morning News on Saturday.
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Gillispie told the newspaper that he was admitted to the hospital on Nov. 14 and was treated for pneumonia. He said further tests showed that he recently had a heart attack and was told at a follow-up appointment that he is suffering from kidney failure due to chronic high blood pressure.
Gillispie, who also coached at Texas A&M and Texas Tech, had been coaching this season at Ranger College in Texas. He returned to coaching this season after retiring nine months ago due to health concerns and had missed the team's previous three games.
Gillispie said he is going to have a consultation with a nephrologist at the Mayo Clinic on Monday and weigh his options.
"In my whole life, I've never asked anyone for anything," Gillispie told the Dallas Morning News. "I'm still not. One of the biggest things I'm studying right now is, 'What effect, someone who donates a kidney, what effect it has on their life? What dangers? What risks? What long-term effects?
"I don't even know that I would take one. I know that sounds stupid, but I wouldn't take a donated kidney if it was going to have any kind of adverse (effect) on anyone."
Hopefully, Gillispie can get the help he needs and return to better health.
He has an overall record of 169-150 in his coaching career, including a 0-38 year with Ranger College. That was their first year in existence so expectations weren't very high that particular season. However, he had a 40-27 record at Kentucky and 70-26 record at Texas A&M in three seasons.
