Bryce Dunlap of North Olmsted, Ohio, died Sunday. He was 21.
In his obituary, Dunlap was described as “an avid lover of Cleveland sports.” The accompanying photograph on Dignity Memorial’s website shows him in a Browns jersey.
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Dunlap, who died Sunday of complications from an anoxic brain injury, registered as an organ donor prior to his death. By Monday, his liver had been matched with a recipient: none other than former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar.
“It’s really a super blessing,” Kosar said, via Fox8.com. “My thoughts and prayers are so with them right now. I can’t thank them enough. I am so thankful and blessed.”
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In a post to Dunlap’s GoFundMe page on Tuesday, organizer Tracy McCanna wrote: “When Bryce renewed his license, he never would have thought that his decision to become an organ donor would lead to helping his favorite team.
“Bryce’s parents were given the chance to choose potential recipients for his organs if they knew anyone on the transplant list. The only person his father Adam could think of at that moment was former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar, and his mother, Kim, wholeheartedly agreed. It was then confirmed by Lifebanc that it was a match.”
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Via Fox8.com, LifeBanc declined to comment on the donation, citing company policy.
Kosar, who told Cleveland Magazine last year that he had been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and Parkinson’s disease, had reportedly been on a waiting list for a liver since July 2024.
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