Editor’s note: This is the first story in a two-part series about local resident and first responder Dan Carr’s recent liver transplant. This article was originally posted in the Cumberland Times-News and is reprinted with permission.
Laying in the intensive care unit at a Pittsburgh hospital, beeping cardiac monitors and IV pumps in the background, Dan Carr, a LaVale resident and first responder, had tears rolling down his face as doctors told him his liver transplant was a success, and the donor was a fellow professional firefighter.
“I immediately started to cry, just a flow of tears. Not sorrowful, pure joy,” Carr said after his transplant Nov. 25 at UPMC’s Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute. “It was unbelievable finding out it was another firefighter.”
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Doctors told Carr the donor was Stacey Holden, an Annapolis Fire Department firefighter/paramedic and fellow International Association of Fire Fighters member.
“Stacey’s courage and compassion embody the very best of the fire service and remind us of what true brotherhood and sisterhood look like. We are grateful for the support provided by Fire Chief Douglas Remaley and the city of Annapolis, which helped make this lifesaving gift possible,” IAFF Local 1926 President Joe Pilat said.
IAFF Local 1926 represents Holden and other members of the Annapolis Fire Department.
“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,” Pilat said.
The deep bond of unity in the fire service is built on sacrifice. What Carr and Holden’s co-workers and communities witnessed with the donation goes far beyond the call of duty, said Steve Corioni, Allegany County Emergency Services IAFF Local 1715 president.
“Stacey gave the gift of life to our member … an act of courage and compassion that defines the very best of who we are. This moment is a powerful reminder of the compassion, unity and humanity that bind our profession together,” Corioni said.
Carr was discharged from the hospital Thursday and will follow up with surgeons on a weekly basis in Pittsburgh for the immediate future.
‘It started as an itch’
During summer 2023, Carr said his skin began to itch, causing him to wake up in the middle of the night to scratch his chest and arms.
“It was like I had rolled in fiberglass,” Carr said. “With no other signs or symptoms, I made an appointment with an allergist and dermatologist.”
Carr’s November 2023 dermatology appointment came and went without answers. The dermatologist ordered blood work, which indicated a potential problem with Carr’s liver. The finding led Carr to schedule an appointment with a gastrointestinal specialist.
“Complications from gallstones led me to be hospitalized and transferred to UPMC Shadyside in Pittsburgh for additional specialized testing,” Carr said.
Carr said it was at that facility 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.
“This is a progressive disease that can cause blockages, repeated over time, it can develop into cancer,” Dr. Swaytha Ganesh, medical director for UPMC’s Living Donor program, said.
“The symptoms are not conventional liver disease symptoms.”
Doctors broke down the condition and treatment options with Carr, but the end result would be a liver transplant. Doctors believed it wouldn’t be necessary for another 10 years.
Carr said his team of UPMC physicians remained diligent with follow-up imaging and blood tests, always keeping an eye on things.
After concerns with a routine MRI in September 2024, Carr’s health care team wanted additional specialized imaging of the liver.
“On Nov. 25, 2024, it was confirmed to be cholangiocarcinoma,” Carr said.
Ganesh said cholangiocarcinoma is a cancer of the bile ducts — tubes that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder and small intestine that occurs from repeated blockages. The only definitive treatment is a transplant.
“The time for a transplant was now,” Carr said.
After meeting with the transplant team in January 2025, a plan of care was initiated.
“The plan of action was put into place, including a very aggressive regime of chemotherapy concurrent with radiation,” Carr said. “The first round of chemotherapy started March 20, 2025, was a continuous pump, 24 hours a day for six weeks with radiation five days a week.”
Carr would require maintenance chemotherapy until his transplant.
The call
“In July 2025 we got the call that they had a match and secured a surgery date,” Carr said. “This didn’t pan out unfortunately, and I continued chemo and waiting.”
On Nov. 3, Carr received a call that there was an organ match and he was scheduled for surgery Nov. 25 at UPMC Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh.
“The surgery date was one year to the date I found out I had cancer,” Carr said.
Firefighters helping firefighters
“The IAFF shared my story on a Facebook page designed for firefighters facing illness or injury,” Carr said. “They get all the credit for saving my life when we listed my need for a transplant and asked people to sign up.”
The Yard Foundation started in 2015 as a simple idea on Facebook — firefighters helping firefighters. Its mission is to be the best charity for firefighters and their families.
After seeing the post, Holden signed up to be screened as a donor.
The social media post that was shared across the United States changed Carr’s fate.
