Ed Henry announces break from Fox News ahead of liver surgery

Fox News host Ed Henry announced Sunday that he will donate part of his liver to save his ailing sister’s life. The Fox & Friends Weekend host revealed through tears that he will be taking a break from Fox to undergo the upcoming surgery, saying, “All I want to do is make her happy.”

“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 said.

Ed Henry tearfully announces liver surgery

On-air Sunday, Henry announced to viewers that he will undergo the surgery to save the life of his sister, Colleen, who suffers from a degenerative liver disease. The anchor said that he hopes sharing his story will help those in need of life-saving organs.

“I’m going to donate part of my liver on Tuesday,” Henry said, holding back tears. “This has been a long journey and it’s really, 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.”

Henry expressed gratitude to his family, friends, and Fox for supporting his decision.

“[The executives at Fox] were asking me to do all kinds of things… And you want to do your job but you’re running out to the hospital to take another blood test,” Henry said. “And I was like, Suzanne, I can’t do this. And she was like, go help your sister,” Henry added, referring to Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News.

After sharing this emotional news, the Fox anchor turned to a jocular mood, quipping that he won’t be able to drink at co-host Pete Hegseth’s wedding while he recovers. He went on to expand on the surgery and his preparation for it. If the surgery is successful, then both Henry and his sister will have a complete liver within weeks.

“If all goes well, I’m going to give 30% of my liver and, amazingly, that 30% will become 100% in my sister in a short time. Obviously, she’s in a different position than I am so it might take longer,” he said. “My 70% should become 100 percent in, I’m told, four to six weeks. It will regenerate. It’s amazing, the liver.”

Take a look at Henry’s on-air announcement, as provided by the Daily Caller:

Reveals anguish of preparation

The anchor went into detail on the rigorous preparation for the surgery, which required him to lose about 15 pounds and take numerous tests to determine if he was a “match.” He said that he was given the green light from doctors to be a donor for his sister in early June.

But getting to that point wasn’t simple, Henry explained on-air and in an op-ed Sunday. He had to be cleared by a private medical team — working separately from his sister’s, and in secret — to make sure that he could undergo the surgery safely. The process involved physical preparation as well as mental counseling for managing the emotional toll of the procedure.

“In my case, I desperately wanted to donate without reservation, but the doctors instructed me I first had to lose 10 to 15 pounds to cleanse fat from my liver and get the medical clearance needed for surgery,” Henry wrote in his op-ed.

With the help of Kettlebell Kitchen, Henry lost several pounds, but he was in anguish when doctors told him he still had a few more to lose while his sister’s condition kept getting worse. Finally, he received the good news — but his sister, he explained, was concerned about how the surgery would impact him, especially with his birthday coming up.

Henry joked that his birthday will be “ruined,” but it will all be worth it — since his sister will be around for many more birthdays to come.

“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,” he said on Sunday. “My sister, unfortunately, got it through no fault of her own. So I want to help.”