Cleveland Browns legendary quarterback Bernie Kosar is back in the hospital again, about six weeks after he underwent liver transplant surgery in November.
Kosar, 62, said he had been re-admitted to University Hospitals due to complications from his body accepting the new liver transplant.
“2026 is going to be a great year for us, but it started out a little rough for me here,” Kosar said in a video posted to X on Wednesday. “My body is having a small rejection right now of the liver. So I’m back in here getting IV’d up and trying to get my body to accept this new liver and this new gift so I can get on to having an awesome, positive 2026. Have a great rest of your week. You matter.”
This marks the fourth time Kosar has been re-admitted to UH following his transplant surgery on Nov. 17. Most recently, he was hospitalized on Dec. 10 due to E. Coli blood poisoning, but was released one week later.
Kosar went public with his most recent liver complications on Nov. 12, when he announced that a previously scheduled transplant surgery was delayed due to the donor organ being infected. He underwent a successful liver transplant procedure on Nov. 17 and was discharged from UH one week later on Nov. 24 – one day before his 62nd birthday and three days before Thanksgiving.
However, less than one week later, Kosar was re-admitted to UH on Nov. 30, but didn’t share further details about what led to his hospitalization. He was discharged from UH for the second time on Dec. 2, saying that he was “heading home with gratitude,” he wrote in a post to X.
Kosar’s liver transplant surgery took five hours to complete, according to Dr. Zoe Lewis, who performed the procedure. Lewis said Kosar’s surgery was “uneventful, thankfully,” and that he was one of few patients who was able to have their breathing tube removed in the operating room following surgery. She added that Kosar’s recovery process will include a routine follow-up program with UH which includes “lots of blood testing” on a weekly basis.
Jim McCarthy, a close friend of Kosar’s, launched a GoFundMe fundraiser on behalf of the Browns legend to help assist with his medical costs. The fundraiser has surpassed $181,000 of its $300,000 goal as of Wednesday afternoon.
On Thanksgiving Day, Kosar donated $25,000 from the GoFundMe to the family of Bryce Dunlap, a 21-year-old Cleveland man whose family donated his liver to Kosar after Bryce’s death last month.
“This family changed my life forever when they blessed me with the incredible gift of Bryce’s liver,” Kosar wrote in a Facebook post announcing the donation. “Their generosity gave me a second chance, and I will never stop honoring Bryce’s legacy.”
Kosar announced he was suffering from liver failure and in need of a transplant during an interview with Cleveland Magazine in July 2024. He was placed on UH’s liver transplant list in spring 2024. In that same interview, Kosar also announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
