Brian Carstens of Long Island tells PEOPLE exclusively that his son, Benjamin, began showing signs that something was wrong days after his birth in the fall of 2024.<\/p>\n
Benjamin wasn’t eating enough, and abnormal newborn screening results led doctors to discover he had dangerously high ammonia levels.<\/p>\n
![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b947025ae22a56b709810f4bf8901f1a.jpeg\"\/)
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Brian Carstens and Karla Hernandez Garcia with their son, Benjamin
Credit: Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone<\/p>\n
Benjamin was rushed to the pediatric intensive care unit, where medications failed to bring his ammonia levels down quickly enough. Doctors ultimately placed him on dialysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Benjamin was so small,” Brian, 28, recalls. “We were in shock and completely devastated.”<\/p>\n Genetic testing confirmed ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency, a rare metabolic disorder that can cause life-threatening spikes in ammonia.<\/p>\n Although dialysis stabilized Benjamin and an MRI showed he had not suffered brain damage, Brian says he and Benjamin’s mother, Karla Hernandez Garcia, were told that another crisis could happen at any moment.<\/p>\n “In our minds, Benjamin felt like a ticking time bomb,” Brian says. “We became obsessed with learning everything we could about OTC deficiency.”<\/p>\n Benjamin Doctors soon explained that while medications, supplements and a specialized diet could help manage the condition, a liver transplant offered the only cure.<\/p>\n The family was referred to Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone, where they learned Benjamin would need to grow large enough to safely undergo the operation<\/a>.<\/p>\n When Brian asked whether becoming a living donor would improve his son’s chances, he says the answer made his decision easy.<\/p>\n “To me, it was not something I had to think about,” he tells PEOPLE. “Living donor liver transplants are associated with higher patient and graft survival. The data on that is clear. As Benjamin’s father, I knew I had to donate and give him the best chance I could.”<\/p>\n Brian Carstens and his son, Benjamin The transplant was scheduled for Aug. 18, 2025 \u2014 Brian’s birthday.<\/p>\n “At that time, all I cared about was making sure Benjamin had the best chance at a healthy life,” he says. “But when we were told the date of the surgery, we were shocked by the coincidence.”<\/p>\n The night before the operation, Brian and Karla stayed with Benjamin at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital. Brian says saying goodbye to his son before being taken to his own operating room was one of the hardest moments of the journey.<\/p>\n As he was wheeled toward surgery, he caught one last glimpse of Karla holding Benjamin.<\/p>\n “I wanted to stop and get up so I could give them one more hug and kiss,” he says. “But I wasn’t strong enough to do it. I would have broken.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKarla was strong through it all, keeping Benjamin happy and making sure he felt loved,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n Brian Carstens and Karla Hernandez Garcia with their son, Benjamin Before Brian was put under anesthesia<\/a>, he had one final request for Benjamin’s surgeon.<\/p>\n “I asked him to please take good care of my son,” he recalls. “He assured me he would.”<\/p>\n When Brian woke up after surgery in the intensive care unit, his first question was about Benjamin \u2014 despite being in \u201ca lot of pain.\u201d<\/p>\n “As soon as I woke up, I asked how my son was doing,” he says.<\/p>\n Benjamin was still in surgery at the time. Once Brian learned his son had made it through the transplant<\/a>, he urged Karla, a registered nurse, to leave his bedside and stay with Benjamin instead.<\/p>\n The following day, Brian was wheeled to Benjamin’s hospital room for the first time after the operation.<\/p>\n Unable to lower the crib rail himself because of the pain from surgery, Brian says the surgeon helped him reach his son.<\/p>\n “The moment I reached for Benjamin’s hand and touched it, I started to cry,” he says. “It was an incredibly emotional moment.”<\/p>\n Benjamin Now, nine months after the transplant, Brian says both he and Benjamin are thriving.<\/p>\n “He is happy and healthy,” Brian tells PEOPLE. “Watching him play, smile, and laugh brings me immense joy. It still feels surreal.”<\/p>\n Brian says he has fully recovered<\/a> from donating part of his liver and would do it again without hesitation.<\/p>\n “I would do it again in a heartbeat just to see Benjamin the way he is now: thriving and full of life,” he says.<\/p>\n “We went from crying tears of fear to crying tears of relief and joy.”<\/p>\n The couple, who have been together since high school, also hope to finally get married after putting their plans on hold while focusing on Benjamin’s recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are high school sweethearts<\/a> [and] have been together since 2015. Once Benjamin was born and his health complications began, we put everything on hold to focus entirely on him,\u201d Brian explains.<\/p>\n Benjamin turns 1 Never miss a story \u2014 sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n Brian also says his family remains deeply grateful to the transplant team at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone, whose care helped make Benjamin’s recovery possible.<\/p>\n “Sharing our story feels deeply personal,” he adds. “But if it can help even one person better understand living organ donation<\/a>, or inspire someone to consider it, then it is worth it.”<\/p>\n![\"BenjaminCredit:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1d01fa23f88482789480267461425633.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Karla Hernandez Garcia<\/p>\n![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1fdfb51a2feaaf4a7e91fda27e89feb6.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Karla Hernandez Garcia<\/p>\n![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b23742f25a90fa50687079603ecb6702.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Karla Hernandez Garcia<\/p>\n![\"BenjaminCredit:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/951747873e9b47c274a74d3dffe326cd.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Karla Hernandez Garcia<\/p>\n![\"Benjamin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5a0e8f5cd8d727c0b2ed500917622a4b.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Karla Hernandez Garcia<\/p>\n