Celebrated singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder revealed to fans during a concert in London on Saturday that he will undergo a kidney transplant surgery later in the year.
Wonder broke the news towards the end of his set at the British Summer Time Hyde Park music festival during which he treated fans to classics, such as For Once in My Life (1968), Master Blaster (1980), and Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours (1970).
Stevie Wonder, 69, paused after he performed his song Superstition (1972) to share the update about his health.
“I’m going to have surgery, I’m going to have a kidney transplant in September of this year,” he said.
The moment, this evening at Hyde Park, Stevie Wonder told us why he would be taking a break from performing…. pic.twitter.com/pwfjnczGKx
— Aleem Maqbool (@AleemMaqbool) July 6, 2019
The WONDER has landed ❤️#BSTHydePark pic.twitter.com/YMkS6LrQN6
— BST Hyde Park (@BSTHydePark) July 6, 2019
While the crowd was still trying to process the announcement, Stevie broke the suspense by saying he already found a donor.
“I’m all good, I’m all good, all good,” he said. ” I have a donor, and it’s all good, It’s all good.”
He added that he announced the news to preempt misleading rumors about his health.
“I want you to know I came here to give you my love and thank you for your love,” he said. “You ain’t gonna hear no rumors ’bout nothing. I already told you what’s up.”
After Wonder told the crowd he already found a donor and assured them that he would be fine, fans showed their relief by breaking into applause and cheers.
Before he made the announcement on Saturday, rumors had been making the rounds that Stevie Wonder was having health issues, was suffering from kidney failure, and had already begun dialysis
Detroit Free Press also recently reported that Wonder was struggling with a “serious but manageable health issue.”
Why do people need a kidney transplant?
According to WebMD, the usual reason why people need a kidney transplant is due to end-stage chronic kidney disease in which the ability of the organs to perform the vital function of removing toxic waste and excess fluid from the body is severely impaired.
A situation where the kidneys are unable to perform their normal function is a life-threatening situation that requires prompt action to prevent kidney failure and death.
Patients have two option when their kidneys are failing. They could start dialysis, which refers to an artificial or machine-aided method for filtering toxic waste from the blood. The most effective option is to get a kidney transplant in which you need a donor with a healthy kidney.
Patients who undergo a successful kidney transplant survive decades longer and enjoy a better quality of life than people who stay permanently on dialysis.
A healthy person with two healthy kidneys can donate one of them. When a person gives one of their healthy kidneys, the other healthy kidney quickly adjusts to doing all the work alone.