Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE BEGINNING OF a new year is a time for us all to reflect on the twelve months just passed, and tho ones that lie before us, full of potential and excitement.
For some families, 2014 is a year they have waited on for a long, long time. It is their loved one’s first new year after an organ transplant, a year where their life will forever be changed.
2013 has been a record year for organ transplants in Ireland, with 293 organs transplanted compared to the previous record of 275 in 2011.
Shane O’Connell and wife Tricia
Almost exactly a year to the day that he first went into hospital, Shane O’Connell was able to get home to see his family this Christmas just gone.
The Kerry native and father of three received a heart transplant in mid-November, after being diagnosed with Dilated Cardio Myopathy some 22 years earlier when he was 11.
It was the end of many years of living in limbo for the O’Connell family, and having Shane sitting at the dinner table on Christmas Day was a very special moment.
Recovery
But what his story demonstrates is that receiving the transplant is not the end of the trips to hospital, the medical issues and struggles. Currently, Shane is back in hospital, receiving treatment for pneumonia.
The anti-rejection drugs he is taking to ensure his new heart functions have reduced his immune system, and it will be many months before he is approaching full health.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, his wife Tricia said that Christmas went well, but “it takes a good six to 12 months after a heart or lung transplant for everything to settle down”.
“There is a lot involved, but it is well worth it,” said Tricia. “It was such major surgery.”
She continued:
We are so thankful that he did get his transplant, and it’s very important to keep trying to get the message out there. It’s fantastic that Shane has gotten his transplant, but there is still an awful lot of people waiting on transplant.
As they welcome the new year, the O’Connell family reflect on the generosity of Shane’s donor and that person’s family, who are in their thoughts.
They are thankful, too, for the Irish Kidney Association, its Kerry branch, and the Renal Centre in Beaumont, who helped them through the past number of years.
This year is the first year of the rest of Shane’s new life.
Stephen Smith and wife Rachel
Another person whose life was transformed for 2014 thanks to an organ transplant is Stephen Smith (35) from Castletara, who received a double lung transplant recently.
After eight calls for transplants that did not end up happening, he described it as “better than winning any lottery” to have his life back.
He was diagnosed with a condition called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, a genetic condition commonly referred to as genetic emphysema. One in 25 Irish people are carriers for Alpha-1.
The diagnosis completely changed the sporty Cavan man’s life, and he had to give up work, sport and going out socially for fear of infection.
Now he is in recovery after having his transplant, sand says that organ donation “is without a doubt the greatest gift you could give another person”.
It’s just unreal to be able to do simple things in life again.
As a taxi driver, he used to drive people to dialysis sessions, so knew the impact of organ donation on others. “Little did I know that two or three years later I would need it,” he reflected.
It will be another month or two before he realises the major changes, he said, and for now he is making sure to keep fit and healthy as his body adjusts to the new lungs.
“Your body has to heal; you have to adjust to everything again without machines.”
He thanks his wife Rachel, and his family, friends and colleagues, for getting him through the difficult times. Of course, his donor and their family are always on his mind too.
His late aunt was an organ donor. “Without brave people like her, people like me and others will not get the life-saving gifts we so desperately need,” said Smith.
For organ donor cards, Freetext DONOR to 50050 or visit the Irish Kidney Association website. Smart phone users can download the Organ Donor E-card app from the App store or Android Play Store.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
I wish the all the receivers of life saving organs a happy and healthy new life and to the Donors and their families who have given the greatest gift to another human being May God bless them all.
And people think they have problems when the electricity goes out for a few days. Nothing better than having your health as my nana used to say. Having a donor card should be a must do resolution!
I’ve had a donor card for years and my new drivers licence has my organ donor code on it too. But the most important part of organ donation is to ensure your next of kin is aware of your wishes. Even with a donor card, doctors cannot touch your organs without the consent of your next of kin. So if this is something you’d like to do, get the card, sign it, and make sure your nearest and dearest are aware!
Everyone should carry an organ donor card. Or at the very least a blood donor card. Just look at the good it can do!!
Tears in my eyes reading this…deffo be a donor, I had my spleen removed @40 years ago when that was a mega operation and while I know obviously it’s not life threatening if I can do without it now and have also survived cancer….come on what do you need these organs for when you’ve passed on! Sign up!
My dad was an organ donor.His life may have been cut short but I get immense comfort and I’m very proud of him when I read organ recipient stories.He was my hero in life and now he is someone’s anonymous hero in death.
I love your comment Fecky.
I’ve carried an organ donor card since I turned 18, as most of my family do. We have a young relative awaiting a heart and lung transplant in America. When it’s close to home, I think people are more aware of the need for the card. There’s also an organ donor app for iPhone available. Sign up people- it could be your chance some day to save a life.
If I give my heart to u , I’ll have none and you’ll have two!
ahhh Im delighted to see Stephen got his lung transplant, looked after him on an admission and got him as a taxi man one time too!
Keep at it Shane and Tricia. After what you’ve been through what’s a bit of pneumonia ! And a happy new year to you Stephen
JOE ex CCU Sep 11th 2013 (9/11)
Glad to see Ireland had a increase in organ donation, Queensland too had record numbers. I was lucky in june 2010 to receive a double lung transplant here in queensland from cycstic fibrosis. If i had been still living in Dublin, not sure I would be still alive. Australia has such a good and efficient health system.
Good luck to these two brave Irish people.
Just got the organ donor e-card there….
Friend of mine got a lung transplant a few months ago . He’s doing great now. Delighted for him
These people have their hearts in the right place…. Or someone’s heart at any rate
Did it come with a charger ?
These outcomes hit home for me. I am a lung transplant survivor from Columbia University Hospital in New York. I am forever grateful to the donor and their family for the gift of life. I thank them daily for their kindness. It has been just over two years now. Quality of life is extremely important to me so I now exercise daily 1 hour at the local club and in the last year my life has improved 4 fold. Those post patients out there the best way to improve although counter intuitive is to exercise as much as possible which will make life happier.
Let the free market solve organ transplant crisis.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-15/ron-paul-let-market-forces-solve-organ-transplant-crisis
have your say