Latest news with #OrganDonorAwarenessWeek
The Irish Sun
14-05-2025
- Health
- The Irish Sun
‘Her generosity is beyond words' says Irish farmer who received kidney from goddaughter 32 years after first transplant
AN Irish farmer received a kidney from his goddaughter 32 years after his first transplant - and he said "her generosity is beyond words". As Organ Donor Awareness Week comes to an end, Michael Fennessy explained how his second kidney 3 A farmer said a transplant from his goddaughter saved his life Credit: Irish Kidney Association 3 His story is coming to light during Organ Donor Awareness Week Credit: Irish Kidney Association A farmer from Cahir Katie, now in her 30s, had been a flower girl at Michael and his wife Carmel's wedding three decades ago, which was almost postponed due to his first kidney transplant. At that time, Michael was 27 and struggling with serious health issues when a call came just days before the He said: 'I was 27 when I got my first transplant. READ MORE IN HEALTH 'I was really struggling with my health at the time. Carmel and I had a wedding date set, the invitations were issued, but my health was in decline. 'Then, out of the blue, we got the call to say a deceased donor kidney had become available and this was just 6 days before we were due to marry.' The pair eventually tied the knot with a new sense of gratitude - and his goddaughter Katie had her moment as the flower girl like planned. Over the years, Michael and Katie remained close and when his kidney began to decline again decades later, she didn't hesitate to be tested as a potential living donor. Most read in The Irish Sun Michael said: 'Katie is both my niece and my goddaughter from before my children were born. 'When she offered to be tested, I was deeply moved. It's not something you can ever take for granted.' I'm the first human patient to receive a pig heart transplant - the 'shot in the dark' could save my life She was one of several Tests showed it was Katie who proved to be the best match and her decision to donate gave Michael a second chance at life once again. Michael continued: 'Her generosity is beyond words. I'll never be able to thank her enough.' Michael and Carmel now have three adult children and they always honoured the anniversary of his first transplant with a mass and family gatherings. Only a few months after donating her kidney, Katie moved to And although she left Ireland, Michael said her incredible act of love and generosity will remain part of her legacy at home. He added: 'I've been given a second chance again. 'To get 32 years from the first kidney was a blessing from a deceased donor family. 'And now, to have Katie give me another chance with renewed health, it's something I'll be forever grateful for.' ORGAN DONOR AWARENESS WEEK Running until May 17, Organ Donor Awareness Week is a campaign led by the Irish Kidney Association and Organ Donation Transplant Ireland to encourage more conversations about organ donation. In 2024, the 263 organ Among these were 175 kidney transplants, 53 liver transplants, 16 heart transplants, 15 lung transplants and 4 pancreas transplants. And there are still 676 people waiting for life saving transplants in Ireland, with over 500 of whom in need of a kidney. To support organ donation, the Irish Kidney Association said you can start by talking to your loved ones and making your wishes known. You can also request a free Organ Donor Card from their website at To order an organ donor card, click 3 She was the flower girl at his wedding over 30 years prior Credit: Irish Kidney Association
Irish Examiner
12-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Increase in organ donation to 1% of deaths could eliminate transplant waiting lists, top doctor says
An increase in organ donors from 0.5% of all deaths to 1% could eliminate transplant waiting lists if more people knew about this option, a top doctor has estimated. Starting on June 17, Ireland will have an opt-out system of consent for organ donation. Anyone who does not want to be a donor can register this with the HSE. Their relatives will not be asked about donation when they die. Families of people who are not on the register can be asked if they would consider donation. Organ Donation Transplant Ireland national director Dr Brian O'Brien called on people to discuss donation with their families and find out about how they can help others. 'About 30,000 people die every year in Ireland, and less than 100 people are organ donors,' he said. If we could increase organ donation from being about 0.5% to 1% we would probably be close to eliminating organ donation waiting lists. The latest lists show more than 600 people waiting for organs, including hearts, lungs and livers. More than 500 of them are waiting for a kidney. 'There's about 600 people awaiting transplant at any one time, and 1% of the 30,000 [annual] deaths would be 300,' Dr O'Brien told the Irish Examiner. 'Your average donor gives two to three organs — two kidneys, sometimes their heart or sometimes lungs.' Dr O'Brien, consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine at Cork University Hospital, said people were more likely to need a transplant than to be a donor. The Human Tissue Act 2024 commences in just over four weeks. He predicted: 'The change in legislation isn't likely to change the numbers terribly much but what we do need is for people to discuss their wishes with their families.' Dr O'Brien hopes very few will opt out, adding: 'Clearly, some people have strong views on this and we must respect their views.' Many people are not suitable to become donors as their organs may be damaged by cancer or other diseases. 'Most surveys would indicate that in Ireland, over 90% of people — depending on the age group — are willing to donate their organs should they die,' he said. 'We need to find ways to increase the numbers of people who actually do.' Changes in sudden death patterns also affect transplants. 'In recent decades, we're getting better outcomes from strokes, and we're getting fewer fatal road traffic accidents,' he said. However changes in cardiac medicine have seen a rise in donations after cardiac death and he said this "now accounts for about a quarter to a third of all donors". Dr O' Brien was speaking during the launch of Organ Donor Awareness Week, which is currently running. Irish Kidney Association chief executive Carol Moore said she looked forward to changes from the new legislation. '[Last year] 84 families, in the most tragic of circumstances, selflessly consented to their loved one's organs being donated,' she said. 'These individual acts of humanity have saved and transformed lives across Ireland and are an example to us all.'
Irish Examiner
06-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
'It gives us real solace': Brother of murder victim whose organs saved lives urges others to become donors
The brother of Cian Gallagher who died after an unprovoked assault in 2022 said he always helped people and donating his organs was a 'really lovely' way to continue that. Mr Gallagher was just 26 when he died after being attacked in Tallow, Waterford. His attacker later received the mandatory sentence of life in prison for murder. 'Cian was always helping people, that's who he was,' his brother Shane said at the launch of organ donor awareness week on Tuesday. 'So from tragic circumstances, it's fitting that his last act was to go on to help people, to save three people's lives and to improve their lives as well.' He described how people shared stories with the family, saying: 'There were a few nice stories that we didn't even know about, they came out online after he died". Heart transplant recipient Nick Hines from Clonaslee, Co Laois, with his mother Annie, wife Tracey, and daughter Molly at Organ Donor Awareness Week 2025. Cian died in Cork University Hospital. 'We just wanted Cian to get better, but when we knew he wasn't, it was a fairly easy decision for us, we said 'yes, we're doing this',' he said. He urged everyone to learn about organ donation. 'It 100% helped us, it gives us real solace, and if we're feeling down we can take a step back and say 'Cian did help people',' he said. 'Many people spend their whole lives and they don't help as much as Cian did with one act.' They received a letter from one recipient, and he said: 'It was lovely, it was really lovely, it really changed that person's life.' Some people who received organs spoke at the event. Nick Hines, from Minnesota, has lived in Ireland for over 20 years with his Irish wife and family. 'Time is funny, 22 years seems plenty in some respects but when you're told your time is up, it seems like a flash,' he said. I'm here because I received a heart from an organ donor. This was 'a remarkable gift', he said. It followed him collapsing from an asymptomatic heart condition. He was listed for a transplant as he became ever more ill. 'I lived for three years with the knowledge the rug could be pulled at a moment's notice, each night I would assess my day in detail while trying to sleep and consider the implications of not waking up,' he said. Avril Whitty from Clearinstown, near Wexford town, who underwent a liver transplant, with her husband Justin Whitty and their two children Alicia, 19, and Cora, 10. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography Mr Hines became emotional as he thanked his donor and healthcare workers, saying: 'Now when I have a day that's good, I can thank my donor for the joy.' The event is hosted by the Irish Kidney Association, which urged everyone to discuss becoming a donor with their families. Dr Brian O'Brien, clinical director of organ donation transplant Ireland with the HSE, said: 'Organ donation, a gesture of kindness to strangers made in the bleakest of circumstances, encapsulates much of what is good about humanity. "Under forthcoming legislation, living donation will become more feasible in Ireland.' Last year 263 organ transplants were carried out due to 84 deceased donors and 30 living kidney donors. The transplants included 175 kidney transplants, 53 liver transplants, 16 heart transplants, 15 lung transplants and four pancreas transplants. Information on how to become a donor can be found here. Read More Grandmother of boys abducted by her son appeals court ruling in attempt to keep boys in Egypt
Irish Independent
06-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
‘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. ADVERTISEMENT 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.'
