My Liver Donation Story: Blair Casey
In November 2019, I was at the fire station and I noticed that a friend of mine had posted something about her dad needing a liver donation. She and her sister had both been tested, and neither of them was a match.
I am in the emergency medical field, and I didn’t even know you could donate a liver. All I had heard about was donating a kidney.
I read the story and saw that his blood type was A positive. I am A positive, so I decided to reach out to her and see what the testing process was like. She put me in touch with the coordinator, and within three weeks I had done all my testing.
I didn’t think about it a whole lot. I wasn’t worried about any risk to me. I just knew if I was a match, I had to do it. This guy had already paid for his funeral—he was in rough shape.
I never met him, but I knew he was a Houston police officer. He actually didn’t want a living donor—he didn’t want anyone to have to go through anything risky for him, so he just wanted to wait for a deceased donor.
I was a good match for him, and my surgery was scheduled for January 8, 2020. They did a good job of keeping the details from him. He figured out that it was a living donor, but they told him they did not know who it was, that it was something the hospital had set up.
On the day of the surgery, we were both at San Antonio University Hospital. He went to go to the bathroom and as he passed me, he said, “You look too young to be in here.” I kind of laughed.
Everything went well with my surgery. A little less than 24 hours afterward, I was able to walk down to his room to meet him. From then on, we have become pretty close.
I wasn’t worried about the donation. UH is very strict about who they allow to donate, and they like to brag that they have never lost a donor. Of course, after the surgery I found out that they had only done about 300 living liver donations, so while the statistic was still good, it maybe wasn’t as impressive as I thought it was.
After the surgery, I had friends and family come in to see me every day. I was lucky because it changed so much after COVID. They told me I could not drink alcohol for a year. I think I was the only person who went through COVID without alcohol. That was harder than the donation.
My recovery was good. Like any major surgery, I felt a little helpless for a while, and I lost 20 pounds of muscle. I took six weeks off of work and then had six weeks of desk work. After 12 weeks, they put me back on the fire truck.
In 2024, I happened to see a post about the Donor Games on social media. I started competing in the events in 2025.
My donation experience strengthened my faith and deepened my belief in the power of compassion and selfless service. I continue to advocate for organ donation and strive to live a life that honors the second chances we can give to others.
About the Author
Blair Casey was born in Fairfield, Texas, and grew up in a small-town setting that taught him the value of hard work, humility, and faith. He earned a degree in Fire Science at Del Mar College before beginning his career in the fire service, a path that would become his life’s calling. He completed his B.A.A.S in Emergency Management Administration from West Texas A&M University and is currently working on his master’s in Public Affairs from UT Rio Grande Valley. Blair currently serves as a Lieutenant Medical Officer with Bexar County Emergency Services District No. 2 near San Antonio. He lives in Kerrville, Texas, with his wife, Kimber, and their two children, Elizabeth and Henry. Together, they enjoy traveling, golfing, fishing, competitive shooting, supporting their community and spending time with their three cats and dog. Faith, family, and service are at the center of Blair’s life. Whether he’s on duty responding to emergencies, spending time with his family, or competing in the National Kidney Registry’s Donor Games, he is guided by gratitude and a desire to make a difference in the lives of others.