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A living kidney donor writes 'We need to encourage more donors – living or deceased'

Living donor kidney transplants are growing in number here. Donors can be family members, friends or even altruistic donors, writes Enda Fanning.

IF YOU HAD told me a year ago that I’d be sitting here writing about living kidney donation and that the donor would be me, I would have laughed out loud. But here I am doing just that.

A good friend of mine has suffered kidney disease in recent times and for most of the last year was on nightly dialysis. He needed a new kidney, sooner rather than later.

Getting yourself on the deceased donors list is generally the first step. However there is approximately a three-year wait for a deceased kidney donor and that all depends on finding a compatible kidney. A kidney from a living donor offers a much greater chance of success and has a much shorter lead-in time.

Looking for a donor

Tadhg’s family and another friend initially put themselves forward as possible living donors but unfortunately none worked out. By the end of May 2016 I had attended my first tests in Beaumont Hospital which as far as I can remember concerned blood tissue compatibility. There then followed a few more visits and finally cross match tests with Tadhg as the recipient.

It is important to note that at all times the Transplant Coordinating team, while assessing a donor, will explain the worst case scenarios possible and that a donor can always pull out at any time, up to the last minute.

In addition, the team are aware that there can be financial implications for donors with time being taken off work, and information concerning the HSE Financial Reimbursement Scheme is provided for donors. As the recuperation period is slow enough it is important that a donor does not lose out financially.

Operation day

Enda Fanning & Tadhg O'Connell after the kidney transplant operation Enda Fanning and Tadhg O'Connell after the kidney transplant operation.

Eventually our designated date – December 12 - arrived. We both had great support from our wives, children and other family members. I don’t think Florence Nightingale herself could have kept up with the workload and support our wives Lucy and Sheelagh put in.

The transplant operation took place and it all went well for both me and more importantly, for Tadhg. It is still early days and a lot of monitoring is still ahead but Tadhg’s new kidney is settling into its new home very well.

He has had no dialysis since before the transplant operation, is feeling very well and his medical team are very happy with progress. Things are looking very good.

Just five days after the operation I was discharged from hospital (Tadhg had to stay a bit longer) but by the time Christmas came we were all at home with our respective families.

Need to talk about live donor transplants

My intention in writing this article is to highlight the whole issue of kidney transplants, particularly live donor transplants. Beaumont Hospital had about a 50% increase in living donor kidney transplant operations last year. I believe donating my kidney was around the fiftieth for the year.

While there has been a big increase in living donors there has also been a fall-off in organ donations following death. The rate of deceased organ donation has steadily decreased due to a number of welcome factors, most notably improvements in road safety and neurosurgical care.

The growth in the living donor programme has partially offset this decline in deceased donors but with 171 new patients added to the waiting list last year, the rate of transplantation is still not keeping pace with demand. More living donors are required.

Tadhg O'Connell & Enda Fanning  3 Tadhg and Enda.

Presumed consent would be ideal

A living kidney donor does not have to be related to a potential recipient, but the organ must match. There were 568 patients on the kidney transplant waiting list in Ireland at the end of 2015, a reduction on the previous year. A total of 153 kidney transplants were performed in 2015.

While the average waiting time for a deceased donor kidney transplant is nearly three years, if a suitable and willing living donor can be identified, the transplant can proceed in a matter of months. In my case it took around five months from my first visit to Beaumont to the transplant operation taking place.

It costs about €60,000 to keep someone on dialysis for a year, while a kidney transplant costs around €25,000. It is not rocket science to see the possible financial savings in the health sector if we encourage more and more donors – whether living or deceased.

I would love to see Ireland follow France’s new policy since January 1 where, along with a number of European countries such as Spain and Austria, “presumed consent” now applies. Everybody becomes a donor of organs and tissues when they die – unless they specifically choose to opt out. How simple would that be to adopt here?

Enda Fanning is an architect and a Sinn Féin councillor for the Templeogue-Terenure ward in South Dublin. For more information on live kidney donations please watch this Beaumont Hospital video - “What you need to know about donating a kidney.” 

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    Mute HearMeNow33
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    Dec 17th 2020, 2:22 PM

    Let it go….

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    Mute Tommy Berry
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    Dec 17th 2020, 2:29 PM

    @HearMeNow33: Are you mad? This will be wall to wall, for a few weeks.

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    Mute Seán Óg
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    Dec 17th 2020, 3:09 PM

    @Tommy Berry: True. Can’t let a chance of some shinner bashing pass them by.

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    Mute Denis Logan
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    Dec 17th 2020, 4:05 PM

    @Seán Óg: says the shinnerbot

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    Mute Seán Óg
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    Dec 17th 2020, 5:54 PM

    @Denis Logan: How predictable of you.

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    Mute tirnanog1979
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    Dec 17th 2020, 2:55 PM

    When is the Gardaí report on Charlie Flanagan potential Covid-19 breaches at Colm Horkan funeral

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    Mute Jane
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    Dec 17th 2020, 3:06 PM

    @tirnanog1979: no comparison and you know it

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    Mute Seán Óg
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    Dec 17th 2020, 3:10 PM

    @Jane: Both funerals broke the regulations Jane and you know it.

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    Mute GrumpyAulFella
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    Dec 17th 2020, 3:17 PM

    @tirnanog1979: that would be Detective Garda Colm Horkan.

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    Mute Jane
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    Dec 17th 2020, 3:18 PM

    @Seán Óg: SF could have sent representatives to Mr Storeys funeral as happened with Garda Horkans funeral and I don’t think anyone could have complained. Instead SF attended the funeral en masse, traveling from all over the country to do so and gathered in a graveyard to give a graveside oration where no burial was taking place.

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    Mute MickN
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    Dec 17th 2020, 3:29 PM

    @Jane: Nonsense, they were as bad as each other

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    Mute Seán Óg
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    Dec 17th 2020, 3:44 PM

    @Jane: Both funerals had large crowds and poor social distancing. If you admonish SF for the Storey funeral then surely you must do the same for Garda Horkan’s funeral. Your disliking of SF seems to be clouding your judgement Jane.

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    Mute Jane
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    Dec 17th 2020, 4:05 PM

    @Seán Óg: but only one was attending in very large numbers by political party reps from all over the country. That’s the difference.
    Why is it even when SF are obviously wrong no criticism is allowed?
    Why do ye want to replace a crowd that dodge questions with another crowd that dodge questions?

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    Mute Angela McCarthy
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    Dec 17th 2020, 5:06 PM

    @Jane: Critism is allowed Jane, but the obvious point you insist on ignoring, is that critism is selective and hypocritical. As was pointed out, you cant criticise one and not the other – but in your case, you did just that.

    To me, both were wrong. It would seem, that to you, there is only political captital to be made from criticising one.

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    Mute John Mc Donagh
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    Dec 17th 2020, 5:44 PM

    @tirnanog1979: It ill behooves Shinners to comment on any Garda’s funeral —–They were responsible for quite a few in their time and indeed have been known to give rapturous acclaim to certain Garda’s murderers.

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    Mute Jane
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    Dec 17th 2020, 7:43 PM

    @Angela McCarthy: and you are ignoring the involvement of a political party in only one of the funerals. A political party that was involved in the making of the rules for everyone else in that jurisdiction.

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    Mute Angela McCarthy
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    Dec 17th 2020, 7:59 PM

    @Jane: A political party? dont you mean political parties, as more than one seems to be set on debating it. but not the other.

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    Mute Jane
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    Dec 17th 2020, 8:20 PM

    @Angela McCarthy: not sure what you mean by that Angela. Only one party is in bother over it because only one party attended en masse. Bringing a crowd to the graveyard unnecessarily was just ridiculous.
    Everyone understands that Bobby Storey was an important figure in SF and as such no one would have batted an eyelid if some of the senior politicians in SF had attended as was done with Garda Horkans funeral.

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    Mute Seán Óg
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    Dec 17th 2020, 9:02 PM

    @Jane: Where did I say no criticism is allowed? People attending both funerals broke government guidelines. So don’t cherry pick your outrage Jane. Call a spade a spade.

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    Mute Jane
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    Dec 17th 2020, 9:24 PM

    @Seán Óg: tell you what Sean you just continue to ignore what are the obvious differences between them as I’ve pointed out above. And continue to be outraged at all and any criticism leveled at SF.

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    Mute Seán Óg
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    Dec 17th 2020, 9:29 PM

    @Jane: I have criticised SF over the attendance of Bobby’s funeral. Because it was wrong to stage a funeral with those numbers in attendance. But you ignore the fact that large numbers attended the Garda’s funeral, including some politicians. Same rules for everyone Jane.

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    Mute Ger Murray
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    Dec 17th 2020, 2:30 PM

    One rule for that crowd, Sur they are the “law” 8 cremations the same day and no one allowed .

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    Mute Airwave81
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    Dec 17th 2020, 2:34 PM

    @Ger Murray: who’s that crowd ?.

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    Mute Tim
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    Dec 17th 2020, 5:37 PM

    @Airwave81: The uniformed woman and men that lined the streets

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    Mute Jimmy Mac
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    Dec 17th 2020, 4:54 PM

    Clear the decks, Nolan show can’t wait to ramp up the whole funeral again, rest in peace Big Bobby, a giant among men.

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    Mute frank_1916
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    Dec 17th 2020, 5:25 PM

    now could they start investigating collusion with he uvf

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    Mute Brian D'Arcy
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    Dec 17th 2020, 7:37 PM

    The usual crowd talking about people in uniforms blah, blah, blah. What I saw were people in ordinary clothes coming out to see a true republican being laid yo rest, with a quarter of a million watching online which Sinn Féin Féin set up. The PSNI have already stated that there were no problems with it. Establishmemt supporters again trying to take away from their parties failure. No bank bailout? Ha ha

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    Mute Pat Andrews
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    Dec 17th 2020, 5:57 PM

    Just ticking a box… Nothing will happen

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