Eric De La Cruz, a Nevada man in need of a heart transplant for whom industrial rockers Nine Inch Nails [ tickets ] raised more than $800,000, died Saturday (7/4). He was 27.

De La Cruz, who had been hospitalized for weeks while battling a number of health complications, succumbed to his heart condition, known as severe dilated cardiomyopathy.

"It is with the heaviest heart that I write this, my beautiful and beloved little brother Eric De La Cruz has passed away," De La Cruz's sister, former CNN anchor Veronica De La Cruz, wrote in a letter posted online, and addressed to "Eric's Twitter Army," a legion of NIN fans and well-wishers who had followed Eric's plight via Veronica's Twitter feed.

Reznor first became aware of Eric's situation after Veronica pleaded for help on her brother's behalf via media outlets and Twitter. Eric's request for a transplant reportedly was denied by Nevada Medicaid and private insurance companies, leaving the family pinning its hopes largely on personal donations.

Subsequently, Reznor began selling via NIN's website VIP packages that allowed donors to have various levels of in-person contact with the band during the group's co-headlining tour with Jane's Addiction. (Jane's later sold VIP packages of its own to benefit De La Cruz after demand for the NIN packages overran supply.)

Reznor's efforts raised more than $260,000 in less than 24 hours, and ultimately totaled more than $800,000.

Despite the successful fundraising campaign, Eric's health had deteriorated rapidly in recent days, leaving him unable to undergo a transplant procedure.

"Before Eric died, I promised him that I would do everything I could to fix this broken healthcare system, so that no one--not one person--would ever have to suffer the way he did, or the way his family has," Veronica wrote in her letter to supporters.