Los Angeles

“He is the Brother I Never Had”: Deputy Undergoing Liver Transplant

Deputy Jorge Castro was diagnosed with a failing liver and desperately needed a new one.

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy is taking "to protect and serve" to a new level.

He's donating part of his liver this week to save the life of a fellow deputy.

"I was diagnosed with a rare liver disease," said veteran deputy Jorge Castro, whose doctor told him that his only chance of recovery was a transplant from a living donor. "As time went on the disease progressed."

But no family members and no friends were a match. Time was running out. Doctors said Castro would not survive.

That's when he shared the sad news with fellow deputy Javier Tiscareno.

"I asked him what type blood he was and he mentioned he was 'O' positive," Tiscareno said. "Knowing I was also 'O' positive I started thinking."

Castro said: "He stopped what he was doing and told me, 'I'll do it! Let's go Saturday!'"

Tiscareno said Castro thought he was joking.

"I told him I was serious," he said. "He brought me paper work and we started the process and here we are today."

Tiscareno said it was an easy decision because members the sheriff's department are part of an extended family who put themselves in harm's way, risking their lives everyday.

"The words I'll never forget is when he told me, 'I'm not gonna go to a funeral knowing I could have helped.'"

The liver transplant surgery will be performed Thursday morning by doctors at Keck Hospital of USC.

"There's no word to express how much I love him now," Castro said of his fellow corrections officer who he has known for 10 years. "He is the brother I never had."

Contact Us