Coach credited for saving a student’s life; turns to IU Health for life-saving transplant

Local news media lauded Kyle Hankins for coming to the aid of a student and Hankins says his real heroes are the transplant team members at IU Health.

By TJ Banes, IU Health Senior Journalist, tfender1@iuhealth.org

For most of his adult life, Kyle Hankins has been a basketball coach and a teacher. He started playing basketball at the age of four and by the time he was in high school, Hankins was named to the Indiana All-Star Team.

He landed a scholarship to Morehead State University, left his hometown of Bloomington and pursued his love of basketball in Kentucky. After college he moved to Oklahoma where he served as a college basketball coach for 17 years. When he returned to Indiana, Hankins coached at Clarksville High School and taught business classes.

Basketball and working with students were his passion.

It was a typical day in his business class when during the last period, he noticed a student choking on a piece of candy. “She was giving the universal sign, and I ran over and gave her the Heimlich,” said Hankins, describing the first aid method for choking. “I was just doing my job.” A local media outlet reported the incident quoting the school principal: "We are incredibly proud of Mr. Hankins' courage and quick thinking during the incident. His actions exemplify the caring and responsible educators we are fortunate to have at Clarksville High School."

Hankins said his private life was a different story. Outside the classroom and off basketball court, he said he “made some bad decisions.”

“It seemed like I could always find a reason to have a drink – a band at a bar, a ball game on tv. I’d get home from work and sit down to watch basketball films and prepare lesson plans, and I’d drink,” said Hankins, 42. “I’ve never been married, and I don’t have any children, and it was just what I did.”

He describes his worst day: “Just wondering how I’d make it to the next day. I was either sick from drinking, or sick from not having a drink. It wasn’t like I needed a drink at 6 a.m. or drink before work, but I’d drink at night, sleep 6-7 hours and go to work.” His first warning came when he was coaching in Oklahoma. Hankins went to his doctor and was told his liver enzymes were high. “He told me to take better care of myself. I brushed it off until the spring of 2024 when it became a thing. I couldn’t function I was so sick,” said Hankins.

Last spring, he was hospitalized at IU Health. Doctors told him that if he didn’t make a change, he might die, said Hankins. “I had quit drinking before I went to hospital and had been sober for three weeks. I got sick and tired of being sick and tired,” said Hankins. But there was only one way to repair the damaged liver. Hankins needed a transplant.

On the night of Nov. 19 and into the morning of Nov. 20, Hankins received a second chance at life. His transplant surgeon was IU Health’s Dr. Richard Mangus. He continues in the care of his hepatologist Dr. Marwan Ghabril and his post-transplant coordinator Christine Beanblossom.

“I can’t say anything but positive things for the care I receive at IU Health. They are the best,” said Hankins, who has returned to the classroom and is teaching at Bloomington South. “All my life I’ve been a coach and now, I’m a coach without a team but a whole lot of supporters. It’s amazing how many people are cheering me on – friends from childhood, high school, college, and now. I’m very lucky.”