‘It didn't just keep me alive, it gave me a life again' – recipients tell of vital organ donations
The appeal comes ahead of Organ Donor Awareness Week, which was launched in Dublin this afternoon and begins on Saturday, May 10
More than 260 organ transplants were carried out in Ireland last year as a result of 84 deceased donors and 30 living kidney donors opting for donation.
Adrian Flynn, who was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer in 2016, received a double lung transplant almost two years ago that changed his life.
He spent three years on the transplant list, with the final 11 months spent in hospital – one of the longest times anyone has waited as an inpatient in Dublin's Mater Hospital for a lung transplant.
'I remember vividly the day I left my home in early 2023, uncertain if I would ever return, except perhaps in a coffin. I had accepted that death was a very real possibility,' Mr Flynn said.
'Other patients with lung conditions in the hospital at the time did not make it, and I am deeply aware of just how lucky I was to survive.'
His family gave him strength during that time, when he received five false calls for a transplant.
Without the donor, there is no transplant. But without the doctors and staff, there's no survival either
Mr Flynn said receiving the transplant had been 'nothing short of miraculous' and he was able to go on his first holiday in nearly a decade this year, travelling to Gran Canaria in Spain with his wife Denise.
'Without the donor, there is no transplant. But without the doctors and staff, there's no survival either. Organ donation didn't just keep me alive – it gave me a life again,' he said.
Secondary school teacher Nick Hines, who is originally from Minnesota in the US but met his wife Tracey while studying in Ireland 22 years ago, had a heart transplant last year.
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The father of three had a mild stroke five years ago, with tests revealing heart failure.
He lived for three years knowing that the 'rug could be pulled at a moment's notice' before he learned a heart transplant was his only hope.
Mr Hines said his donor and their family's 'selfless act' had given him the 'liberation of time'.
'I have now passed a year with my transplant; I am not just alive, I am living.'
Mother-of-one Alceina O'Brien, who received a simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplant last year, told how her type 1 diabetes led to renal failure at the age of 45.
She said she was given a 'second chance' through her double transplant and her life had been changed for the better, adding that she was 'overwhelmed with mixed emotions' when she received the call.
'While I felt hope and relief that my life might be transformed, I was also deeply aware of the profound loss another family had just endured,' she said. 'Their selfless decision to donate life-saving organs in the midst of such grief is something I will carry with me forever.'
Avril Whitty received a liver transplant almost two years ago, when her daughters were aged 17 and eight.
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about my donor and their family
'Watching your children grow while wondering if you'll be around to see the next year of their lives – that's a pain I wouldn't wish on anyone. But they gave me strength,' she said.
'There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about my donor and their family. I don't know their name, but I carry their spirit with me every single day.
'I live my life now in honour of them, with more gratitude, more purpose and more love. I am living now and not just surviving.'
Dublin primary school teacher Keelyn Murphy, who undergoes dialysis three times a week and is currently on the transplant list, said receiving a kidney would give her family 'a chance at normality'.
'A chance for us to have what so many people take for granted. A chance to finally step out of the waiting room and back into life,' she said, urging others to have a conversation about organ donation with their loved ones.
The pride I feel is indescribable
Olivia Farrell, whose daughter Lauren died following a sudden heart attack at the age of 24 in 2022, said the decision to donate her organs means Lauren's 'final act, her incredible gift, has saved and transformed lives'.
'To know that another person lives on, that other families have been spared this heartbreak because of her selfless act is a testament to her loving, giving nature, the pride I feel is indescribable,' she said.
I can't emphasise enough the importance of talking about these decisions beforehand
Ms Farrell has urged others to have the conversation about organ donation with family and friends.
'I can't emphasise enough the importance of talking about these decisions beforehand,' she said.
'None of us know what is going to happen tomorrow, and by having the discussions with your loved ones, we can respect each other's wishes in times of tragedy.'
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