His liver was failing, and the team that saved him is changing the future of transplant care in Orange County

After receiving the devastating news that he had end-stage liver cirrhosis and an extremely rare form of bile duct cancer, Charles “Chuck” York was determined to survive.

“I decided then that this wasn’t going to be how my story ended,” he says. “I was going to live through this.”

Over the next year, Chuck’s care team, led by Dr. Tse-Ling Fong, a transplant hepatologist and co-director of Hoag’s liver program, guided him through numerous imaging scans and paracentesis procedures—the latter involves draining excess fluid, called ascites, from the abdomen, a common complication of cirrhosis.

Though he continued to endure painful symptoms, his condition stabilized, and he was finally well enough to be considered for a liver transplant.

“I can’t say enough about Dr. Fong and the Hoag team,” says Chuck’s wife, Reanne York. “They were all so wonderful to us. No matter how challenging the circumstances were, we always felt seen and cared for, and that played a pivotal role in Chuck’s ability to get better.”

While Dr. Fong continued overseeing his liver care, Chuck began his transplant evaluation process at Hoag. However, because Orange County does not have a liver transplant center, Chuck had to leave the community he called home and join the transplant waitlist at USC.

Fortunately, hope arrived from an unexpected place. After seeing Chuck’s plea for help on social media, an old friend from high school offered to donate a portion of his liver.

Under the care of a multidisciplinary team, which included liver and kidney transplant surgeon Dr. Aaron Ahearn, Chuck underwent a successful living donor liver transplant surgery at USC, providing him with a new chance for a healthy life.

Today, the physicians who played pivotal roles in his journey are coming together at Hoag to transform transplant care for Orange County.

Despite being home to more than 3.1 million residents, Orange County currently does not have a liver transplant program. By comparison, San Diego County, with a similar population, supports two.

For local families, this absence often means leaving their support systems and trusted physicians at a time when stability matters most.

But that is about to change.

With the recruitment of Dr. Aaron Ahearn as Surgical Director of Abdominal Transplant, Megan Bell as Transplant Administrator, and the appointment of Dr. Brian T. Lee as Medical Director of Liver Transplant in the spring of 2026, Hoag is actively developing a comprehensive abdominal transplant program to bring advanced liver and kidney transplant care closer to home for Orange County patients and families.

The program is the culmination of years of planning and collaboration, and is being led by Dr. Kenneth Chang, the James & Pamela Muzzy Executive Medical Director Endowed Chair in GI Cancer, Digestive Health Institute.

The first transplants at Hoag are anticipated to occur in 2027, meaning patients will no longer need to travel to hospitals outside Orange County for life-saving transplant surgery and recovery.

“This is going to fulfill a huge need for our community here in Orange County,” Dr. Ahearn says. “Our goal is to deliver care at the highest national standard while keeping patients close to the physicians and families who support them.”

For Chuck, seeing the physicians who guided him through every stage of his journey now working together at Hoag feels especially meaningful.

“Having a transplant program at Hoag, driven by the expertise of the physicians who healed me, is going to be a game changer for the people of Orange County,” Chuck says.

Since the procedure, Chuck says he’s never felt better. He is back to working full time as a project manager for a construction company, and “enjoying as much time with my incredible wife and family as I can.”

“I have just so much gratitude for Dr. Fong and the team at Hoag,” he says. “They never stopped advocating for me. And for my donor, an old friend who saved my life.”

Learn more about Hoag’s liver program.