Editor’s note: This is the second story in a two-part series about local resident and first responder Dan Carr’s recent liver transplant. Read Part 1 here. This article was originally posted in the Cumberland Times-News and is reprinted with permission.
One out of every six people will die awaiting or become too ill to undergo an organ transplant in the United States.
LaVale resident and first responder Dan Carr was one of the few that received the gift of life.
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“People become too sick for a transplant and have to be removed from the list or succumb to their disease before a transplant can occur,” said Dr. Swaytha Ganesh, medical director of UPMC’s Living Donor Program.
Carr’s unexplained symptoms began in 2023 with itchy skin. After undergoing lab work and specialized imagining of vital organs, he was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic, rare liver disease that causes the bile ducts to become inflamed, scarred and narrowed, which can damage the liver over time.
Ganesh said the only definitive treatment is a liver transplant. Over time the condition can lead to a rare form of cancer.
After concerns with a routine MRI in September 2024, Carr underwent further testing.
Nearly a year after his first complaint and symptoms, he was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of cancer that is aggressive and affects a patient’s bile ducts — tubes that connect the liver, gallbladder and small intestines.
Carr would require chemotherapy, radiation treatment and, ultimately, a liver transplant.
“The time for a transplant was now. The plan of action was aggressive chemotherapy concurrent with radiation. I would require maintenance chemotherapy until a transplant was available,” Carr said.
Carr began seeing transplant specialists at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute at UPMC-Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh and its Living- Donor Liver Transplant Program.
‘Consider donating’
UPMC’s program believes that living donation is a first-line option for patients on the waiting list, Ganesh said.
The Liver Transplant Program located in Pittsburgh is one of the oldest and largest liver transplant programs in the United States, treating some of the most complex cases.
Carr said that his physician’s dedication and commitment to his care was comforting.
As transplant pioneers, UPMC leads the nation in both adult and pediatric living donor liver transplants.
The Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute is dedicated to helping people from around the world with end-stage organ failure. It was established in 1985 and originally called the Pittsburgh Transplantation Institute. It was renamed in 1996 in honor of Starzl, a doctor whose foresight, perseverance and commitment made him the modern-day father of organ transplantation, according to the institute’s website.
The institute’s programs include liver, kidney, pancreas and intestinal transplantation.
“We are projected to have completed 81 adult and 11 pediatric liver transplants at the end of 2025,” Ganesh said.
The facility has performed 122 transplants in 2025, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, an organization established by Congress in 1984. The National Organ Transplant Act addressed the nation’s critical organ donation shortage and improved the organ matching and placement process.
“Living donor liver transplantation is very safe for the donor and the recipient. Everyone should consider donating,” Ganesh said.
“Even with the documented safety of the procedure there are only 600 living donations performed on average in the United States, while 10,000 to 11,000 people wait on the transplant list.”
Ganesh emphasized the importance of educating the public about organ donation.
“People have a lot of opportunity to help one other,” Ganesh said. “Every single person should think of being a donor.”
Even with the data, Ganesh said that people are more likely to donate a kidney, compared to a liver.
“What they don’t understand is your liver is unique and it will regenerate in eight to 12 weeks. That’s why we must get the message out there,” Ganesh said.
Ganesh encouraged potential donors to visit the institute’s website for more details on donation and screening process specifics.
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‘Selfless act’
After Carr’s transplant Nov. 25, he was told that his donor, Stacey Holden, was a fellow firefighter/paramedic from the Annapolis Fire Department.
“Finding out it was another firefighter helping a firefighter without regard for their own self speaks volumes,” Carr said.
“I want to express how incredibly proud we are of firefighter/paramedic Stacey Holden. Her decision to become a living liver donor for fellow IAFF member Dan Carr of Local 1715 is one of the most selfless acts any of us will ever witness in this profession,” International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1926 President Joe Pilat said.
IAFF Local 1926 represents members of the Annapolis department.
“I cannot think of a more meaningful or selfless act than to donate an organ to another person. The gift of organ transplantation for a patient with terminal organ failure truly offers the recipient a second chance at life,” Dr. Timothy Chizmar, Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems state medical director, said.
“… [H]aving one EMS clinician donate an organ to a colleague in another region of the state demonstrates great compassion and our unity as EMS professionals.”
Partners bond
Carr, a 15-year firefighter and EMT, is in recovery mode.
“Full return to work status is a six- to 12-month recovery,” Carr said. “I will have to take anti-rejection and immunosuppressant medications twice a day for the rest of my life.”
Carr’s career started over a decade before in several areas of Maryland. He said one of his most memorable assignments was being deployed to New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, before returning to Allegany County’s Department of Emergency Services.
“His surgery to this point has been a success with a few setbacks along the way,” Allegany County Department of Emergency Services EMS Chief Michael Salvadge said.
“He has the best attitude and has been excited to return to work when the recovery and healing process is complete.”
In the public safety profession, unique bonds are made between partners that you work with regularly, Salvadge said. Maquela McCloud’s first partner after being hired by Allegany County in 2021 was Carr. They have remained together for nearly their entire tenures.
“We’ve been stationed in LaVale, Corriganville and now Cresaptown,” McCloud said. “Dan is a great guy all around. He has become my best friend and the older brother I never had.”
McCloud said that Carr has supported her through difficult times and has been there for other people when they needed it.
“Watching how strong Dan is, his wife and family have been … watching the community and our brothers and sisters come together has been aweing,” McCloud said.
“I know Dan looks forward to getting back to the job he loves and (I’m) excited to have him back as my partner.”
