A Calgary man hospitalized in Mexico while on vacation has died, less than a day after his wife put out a call on social media for blood donations.

"We're sad to report that Troy Black passed away last night due to cardiac arrest," read a post on Facebook to a group dedicated to supporting the couple.

Black's wife, Lindsay Black, put out an an urgent call for Type O+ blood donors in Mexico after he suddenly fell ill on Thursday and was placed on life support.

Doctors at San Javier Hospital in Puerto Vallarta discovered he had a tear in his esophagus that would not clot. Black was given six bags of O+ blood at the local hospital — the hospital's entire supply.

Black died at 9:20 p.m. Saturday, according to the Puerto Vallarta Medical Center. A spokesperson for the hospital said the local blood bank was still running low on O+ blood.

According to the Facebook post, the family is making arrangements to bring Black's body back to Calgary.

'Such a big heart'

Black is the son of former Alberta MLA Pat Nelson. Nelson served as MLA for 15 years, and was the province's minister of energy at one time, and minister of finance.

Black once worked as the special advisor to Alberta's former justice minister, Jonathan Denis, who was informed of the death by both Black's wife and Nelson.

Denis told CBC News Black was also a personal friend.

"This is just devastating," Denis said. "I can't imagine, if I feel this bad, how they must feel as his family members. It's beyond terrible. A few days ago we were just texting."

Black was just 33 years old, Denis said.

"He was just the salt of the earth, the best friend you could ever ask for. He always just wanted to be there for people in his life. He had such a big heart, he was so loyal and was taken far, far before his time," Denis said.

Denis said despite the tragedy, Black's death has brought out the best in a lot of people. Many people posted to the Facebook group saying they were still going to donate blood in Black's honour.