‘I’m Alive’: Local man shares his liver transplant journey at Waltham ceremony today

When Craig Weiner got a call from his doctor 18 years ago, he was surprised to hear his liver enzymes were off. Some months later, specialists at Mt. Auburn Hospital diagnosed him with fatty liver disease, or cirrhosis. Not one to consume much alcohol, he stopped drinking. No one could explain the cause, and for the next dozen years, he felt fine even though the disease kept progressing silently.

Then in July 2022, doctors at Beth Israel Deaconess said they were putting him on a list to receive a liver transplant. He still felt fine when he got a call before Thanksgiving to come in for surgery. After getting prepped, he learned the donor liver was not suitable. A few months later, another call came. Another rush to the hospital. Another unsuitable liver. Soon, Weiner started to feel ill. He would sometimes feel foggy or even pass out. 

Around Memorial Day in 2023, he finally received a transplant, but his body rejected the organ. “I made my funeral arrangements,” he recalled. For the next several months, he seesawed, kept alive by blood transfusions and frequent emergency visits to the hospital. “By late September, I had given up,” Weiner said. “Then in October, the call came. A liver was on its way from Wisconsin.” 

When Weiner woke up after receiving the transplant, his surgeon asked him how he was feeling. Weiner had tubes down his throat and couldn’t speak. Instead, he wrote, “I’m alive.” Now 60 years old, with two adult sons, the Belmont resident is grateful to “have my life back.” 

Later, he wrote to the family of the man who had donated the liver. He was 62, he learned, and had died driving his motorcycle. “His wife said he died doing what he loved,” Weiner said. “She’s so happy I’m alive” because of his gift. 

Sharing his story today at City Hall

Weiner had told no one outside of his family about his health condition until the first transplant attempt. But now he feels compelled to share his experience. “I went from never talking to anyone about it to telling everyone about it,” he said.

He will share his personal story on April 1 at 11 a.m. in front of Waltham City Hall, joining city and state officials alongside advocates from New England Donor Services to raise a banner honoring donor families and recipients and to mark the start of National Donate Life Month.

Mayor Jeannette McCarthy and state Sen. Mike Barrett will take part in the ceremony, along with city councilors, representatives from the state Department of Public Health and Registry of Motor Vehicles and members of the donor community.

The banner raising is the first in a series of New England Donor Services events planned across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut to promote organ and tissue donation. 

Waltham-based New England Donor Services reported a record number of transplants in 2025, coordinating donations from 640 deceased donors that resulted in 1,692 transplants. That marks the fifth consecutive year of growth for the organization, which is now among the top three organ procurement organizations in the country by donor and transplant volume.

“I’ve always signed up to be an organ donor,” Weiner said. “To be able to give someone an organ so they can keep on going – going from a tragedy to giving someone life, that’s a gift. It can’t be topped. Without four people donating their livers, I wouldn’t be here today.”

The Waltham event will take place on April 1 at 11 a.m. at City Hall, 610 Main St. More information about organ and tissue donation is available at neds.org.