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30 ROCK STAR NEEDS KIDNEY TRANSPLANT


By Liz Hodgson - Posted on 18 December 2009

Actor Grizz Chapman, who plays Tracy Morgan's character's bodyguard on 30 Rock, needs a kidney transplant.
Chapman, 35, confessed in a television interview he has ignored his high blood pressure for 10 years and is nervous about the surgery.
But the 6ft 11ins giant faces two hurdles before he can go under the knife – he has to lose at least five and a half stone from his 27 stone frame before he can be considered for the operation, and then there is a minimum five-year waiting list.
He told People magazine he is getting ready for the fight of his life – and urged other people not to turn a blind eye to their health.
“Whatever I can do for the longevity of my life, I'm going to do it,” he said.
But he admitted: “I'm afraid to get one because of all the unknown things. You can put a kidney in your body – and somewhere down the line your body might reject it.
“I'm not saying I don't want to go through with it but it's a little scary. It's a big decision.
“At the end of the day, if I can bring awareness to this problem, I'll do whatever I can do.”
He admitted his lifestyle contributed to his disease and that he did not go to the doctor regularly.
“I was a celebrity bodyguard,” he went on. I didn't always keep the best hours or choose the best food when I was on the road.
“Even though you don't fell anything you need to get an annual check-up. It doesn't matter if you feel fine because I felt fine.”
Chapman, who is on dialysis three times a week, opened up about his illness on The Dr Oz Show.
He said: “The cool thing is, Dr Oz is passionate about this. He brought a doctor into my life who is going to help me. When you have other people in your corner it makes it a little bit easier.”
One of those people is Kevin Brown, a co-star on the Five show.
Chapman said: “He's a great support. I can come to him with anything. He has a few pounds to lose so we're going to do this together.”
He met celebrity physician Dr Mehmet Oz at a kidney charity fundraiser in October. The doctor offered to help him, but asked him to go public and become the face of hypertension in America.
Dr Oz said: “It's a painful problem for physicians to see because it's preventable.”
He has assembled a medical team to keep Chapman as healthy as possible but said it will be a long road.
“The reality of the prognosis is we don't know,” he said. “It depends on how things are managed.
“He's got a winning spirit and if we follow his story carefully everyone's going to learn a lot from it.”