Nine donor recipients come together for first time
Were it not for the generosity of the families of ten deceased donors, a group of friends, united through their hereditary illness, would not be alive today. They had all come close to death before receiving a lifeline from a donor stranger. The friends now wish to share their story about the legacy of organ donation during this week’s Organ Donor Awareness Week 2015 (28th March-4th April).
For the first time ever, nine people, whose friendship has endured over many years since their Cystic Fibrosis (CF) diagnosis, came together as they had all received double lung transplants. Some of the friends had never met in person before and some had met at CF clinics. They all became a network of supportive friends through social media and phone texting. Seven of their double lung transplant operations took place within 13 months, between June 2013 and July 2014, at the Mater Hospital Dublin. The other two Irish transplant recipients underwent their life saving operations at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, England. Those who underwent their double lung transplants in the UK were Declan O’Doherty (40) from Loughrea, Co Galway (a native of Geashill, Co Offaly) who is celebrating the 15th anniversary of his transplant which he received in January 2000 and Orla Walsh (27) from Ashbourne, Co Meath who underwent her transplant in April 2012.
The 30th birthday celebration of one of their most recently transplanted friends, Leona Henry from Newbridge, brought them together. This milestone birthday was a cause for particular celebration as she had faced death before her life saving lung transplant came in July 2014, just over a year after her brother Thomas Henry (27), who also has CF, received his transplant in June 2013.
Mother of two children, Natasha D’Arcy (34) from Leopardstown Dublin, said, “I was extremely ill and thought that Christmas 2013 would be my last one with my children Oisin (6) and Niamh (8). Then I was given a lifeline when I was called for my double lung transplant in late November 2013, just three days after my friend Lar Brennan (30) (from Blanchardstown, Dublin and now living in Wexford) underwent his transplant. My children were very young throughout my illness and attended clinic appointments with me. They kept me going throughout and were my reason to keep fighting to survive. My donor has given me back my life and it’s thanks to this stranger my children still have their mother. I can now enjoy the simple things in life like being able to walk my children to school and our dream for the future is to be able to go on a trip to Euro Disney.”
Planning to get married in August this year is Aoife McKiernan (31) from Castleblaney, Co Monaghan who received a double lung transplant in July 2013. Hoping to attend her wedding is Gordon Ryan (35), from Boyle, Co Roscommon who received his transplant just a few weeks after Aoife’s.
Amy McElhinney (26) from Rush, Co Dublin and a twin sister of one of the celebratory group, Jill McElhinney, was not able to attend Leona’s birthday party as she had just received a lung transplant operation at the Mater Hospital. Her sister Jill who received her transplant in September 2013 was able to enjoy the birthday celebrations.
The oldest of the group of CF friends who attended Leona’s birthday party was Declan O’Doherty who said. “I feel privileged to be here today. Were it not for my donor I would not have been able to celebrate my 40th birthday last year, and meet my partner and live to see our family grow up and I have also represented my country as part of a team in Transplant Sport. Leona and her brother Thomas have been my friends for a long time but I had never met Leona in person before her birthday celebration. It was wonderful to be able to finally get to meet her at her 30th birthday party earlier this month and to have a souvenir photograph of nine of us who are all here today thanks to our transplants. I would like to thank the families of our donors for making this possible.”
Thomas Henry (27) said: “I led a relatively normal childhood, but my health took a bad turn a couple of years before my transplant in June 2013 and my chances of survival were bleak. My transplant saved my life and I have my donor to thank for this. However, while I was recovering post transplant my sister Leona’s health was continuing to decline and she was put on a transplant waiting list. It wasn’t until she received her transplant 13 months after mine that our family could finally celebrate our gifts of life. Two donors saved our lives. The best we can do to honour them is to make the most of the second chance of life we have been given. We can now enjoy playing with our lively young nieces who might otherwise have lost their aunt and uncle to organ failure. Our transplants have affected not just me and Leona, but all our family.”
This year marks the 10th anniversary of lung transplantation and 30th anniversary of heart transplantation at the Mater Hospital Dublin. In 2014, despite a poor organ donation rate, the Mater Hospital surpassed itself for heart and lung transplantation with a record year for transplantation with a total of 49 operations taking place, 31 lung and 18 heart transplants. The year 2013 was a record year for lung transplantation at the Mater Hospital with 32 taking place, just one more than last year.
The 2015 Organ Donor Awareness Week (28th March-4th April) campaign, which is organised by the Irish Kidney Association, features broadcaster Mary Kennedy in radio advertising as well as on posters, encouraging the public to support organ donation.
The focus of Organ Donor Awareness Week is to raise awareness about the ongoing and ever increasing demand for transplantation which relies on the public for organ donation. Families need to talk together and keep the reminders of their willingness to donate visible by carrying the organ donor card, downloading the Smartphone App and permitting Code 115 to be included on their driver’s licence.
Beaumont Hospital conducted 158 transplant operations in 2014, of which 112 were kidney transplants from deceased donors, 6 included a pancreas and a record 40 transplants were from living kidney donors.
A the end of 2014 there were 597 people in the kidney transplant waiting pools and combined with heart, lung and liver the total number of people awaiting transplantation is over 700.
There are 4172 people in Ireland with failed kidneys, 2278 or 55% are transplanted and 1894 or 45% are on dialysis.
Last year was a record year for paediatric kidney transplants in Ireland with a total of 19 children receiving kidney transplants. Now only 16 children are receiving dialysis treatment, 11 less than a year ago. However, at the end of 2014 there were 74 more adults on dialysis than a year earlier reflecting the poor kidney transplanting figures of 2014 because of the low number of deceased organ donors.
Since the Living Donor Kidney Programme commenced at Beaumont Hospital eight years ago a total of 195 living donor kidney transplants have taken place. Nowadays a quarter of all kidney transplants are from living donors with a record 40 being carried out last year.
Organ Donor Awareness Week also serves as a fundraising exercise for the Irish Kidney Association. Throughout the Week ( 28th March- 4th April, 2015), the Association’s volunteers will be out on the streets, and in shopping centres throughout the country, selling 'forget-me-not-flower' emblems, brooches, pens and shoppingtrolley discs. All proceeds will go towards the Irish Kidney Association’s aid for patients on dialysis and those patients fortunate enough to have received a kidney transplant. The Irish Kidney Association’s charitable activities include the provision of a 13 double bedroom free accommodation facility for patients and their families in the grounds of Beaumont Hospital and holiday centres located in Tramore and Kerry, together with patient advocacy, advice, financial aid and rehabilitative, health promotion and the provision of kidney patient information and education. This year the IKA is introducing another fundraising technique. You can text “kidney” to 50300 and €2 will be donated from your mobile phone account to the IKA.
The Irish Kidney Association is the national organisation charged with the promotion and distribution of the organ donor card in Ireland, on behalf of Organ Donation Transplant Ireland.
Free information fact files, which accompany organ donor cards, are obtainable from the Irish Kidney Association and are available nationwide from pharmacies and GP surgeries.
Organ Donor Cards can also be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association LoCall 1890 543639 or Freetext the word DONOR to 50050. Visit website www.ika.ie
It is now possible to store an organ donor card, the ‘ecard’ on Smart mobile phones. Simply search for ‘Donor ECard’ at the IPhone Store or Android Market Place.