WSM show host and Grand Ole Opry announcer, Bill Cody speaks onstage at Jeannie Seely's 5,398th Opry Show: A Public Celebration of Life at Grand Ole Opry House on August 14, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)
Bill Cody, the Grand Ole Opry host and Country Radio Hall of Fame member, is in the ICU and needs a heart and kidney transplant to survive, his daughter revealed on social media.
The statement from his daughter Hannah was released on the Facebook page of WSM Radio, where Cody has been a host for decades.
Bill Cody needs double transplant
What they're saying:
"Friends. Prayer warriors. I believe in the power of prayer and my daddy needs prayers," the statement reads.
"A little over 3 weeks ago he was admitted to the ICU in heart failure and kidney failure. After weeks of being on a roller coaster of emotions, tests, dialysis, medications, steps forwards and steps backwards, it was determined earlier this week that his only option for survival would be a double transplant, heart and kidney."
Hannah said he passed the tests needed to qualify for the transplant list, but this week, "his heart strength and ability to pump blood took a downward spiral."
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Cody was intubated and placed on ECMO, a machine that pumps the heart for him.
"Pray that he will not experience any of the risks that come along with ECMO – stroke, blood clots, infection," Hannah wrote. "Pray that the next 48 hours on ECMO gives his body time to rest and gain strength. THIS is his biggest hurdle for transplant qualification right now. He has to gain strength.
"We need a miracle and we know God is able. Please, if you’re able, stop and pray for these things. Our family can’t thank you enough. We love you all."
Bill Cody’s career
The backstory:
Cody has been a host on WSM’s "Coffee, Country & Cody" for more than 30 years, according to Visit Nashville’s website. He also has been a longtime announcer and host of the Grand Ole Opry.
He was inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in 2008 and is syndicated nationally on radio, TV, SiriusXM and "even aboard Air Force One," Visit Nashville says.
The Source: This report includes information from WSM Radio’s Facebook page and Visit Nashville’s website.