Ed Henry discusses emotional decision to donate part of his liver to his sister

close

Video

Ed Henry announces he will be donating part of his liver to his sister

'Fox & Friends' host Ed Henry announces he will be donating part of his liver to his younger sister Colleen.

Fox News chief national correspondent Ed Henry became emotional during a segment of "Fox & Friends Sunday," after he announced he'd be donating part of his liver to save his sister's life.

Henry's sister Colleen suffers from a liver disorder which now requires her to have a transplant, and he wanted to share his family's story to spread empathy and inspire hope.

ED HENRY: I'M BECOMING A LIVER DONOR FOR THE SISTER I LOVE, SO SHE CAN LIVE A LONG AND HEALTHY LIFE

"I'm going to donate part of my liver on Tuesday," Henry said, trying to hold back tears. Co-host Pete Hegseth said Henry had every right to feel emotional and asked for background on Colleen's case.

"This has been a long journey and it's good to talk about it -- it's just hard to -- I hope it helps people. Because there's a lot of people who need organ donations."

A picture of Henry and his sister flashed on the screen and he said it was taken several days ago. "She was really happy there and that’s all I want to do is make her [happy] and give her a little life," he added.

Henry said the people around him at his job and in his life have helped him bear the burden of taking on the unknown to help save his baby sister.

"Now that I’ve caught my breath, my parents have been great, my wife’s been great, my kids are strong beyond their years," he said.

"I can’t forget to say that Suzanne Scott, our C.E.O., you know, it’s funny, you feel a burden and then you feel like it’s lifted when people around you help you. Jay Wallace our president, Lauren Petterson as well, one of our great executives -- they were asking me to do all kinds of things like go to the debates in Miami and do these things... but you’re running out to the hospital, taking another blood test. I finally just said Suzanne I can't do this. And she was like, go help your sister. Everybody at Fox -- and they are amazing ... we're family."

Video

Henry then took a light-hearted turn, and said he would be in attendance at co-host Pete Hegseth's upcoming wedding, but would not be taking advantage of the open bar due to his liver.

He then shared the details of his surgery and what he can expect. Henry said his liver will regenerate if there aren't any unexpected complications.

"If all goes well, I’m going to give 30 percent of my liver and amazingly that 30 percent will become 100 percent in my sister in a short time. She’s obviously in a different position than I am so it might take longer," he said.

ED HENRY AND 'OUTNUMBERED' BREAK DOWN 2020 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL FIELD

"My 70 percent should become 100 percent in, I’m told, four to six weeks. It will regenerate. It’s amazing, the liver," Henry added.

He also said he has been fully tested for the surgery and has been deemed healthy enough to handle the physical and mental strain of the operation.

"My sister and I will be in side-by-side operating rooms. My surgery will be about six hours I think to take out part of my liver and then hers could be eight to ten hours, depending -- to take out her liver, which is not doing well. It’s a hereditary thing," Henry said.

He said he and his family would survive and prosper with the help of God's grace and love before he thanked his Fox family once again for their support.

"I’m just fortunate that in my family there’s been this liver issue. I didn’t get it, thankfully, because they’ve screened everything. My sister, unfortunately, got it through no fault of her own. So I want to help. And so, yeah, they put me through the paces. Psychologist, a psychiatrist. Because there’s a mental aspect to this as well," he said.

"But you know, the amazing thing is through God's grace I can help, and I’m going to help. And she’s going to be great, as so will I, and Fox has been absolutely amazing," Henry added.

Henry wrote an op-ed for foxnews.1eye.us Sunday, detailing his decision to step up and help try to save his sister's life.

"I am determined to do whatever I can to give my sister the greatest gift of all, which quite simply is life," he wrote. "The fact is that the risk of mortality for me is extremely low – less than 1 percent, according to the doctors. I will gladly take on the small risk of what the paperwork I signed at the hospital last week calls a "large midline incision" for the gigantic reward of having my sister around for a very long time."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"I am motivated also by the fact that she is one heck of a mom to my niece and nephew," Henry added.

A GoFundMe page has been taking donations for Colleen Henry's recovery.