Kidney transplant still celebrated four decades later

THE daughter of a Northside woman celebrating a remarkable 40 years since receiving a living donor kidney transplant from her late sister has shared her family’s moving story to help highlight the need for organ donations.

Christine Kelly (63) from Griffith Avenue, Dublin is an example of the longevity of kidney transplant recipients from living donors.

The living donor programme began in Ireland in 1972 at Jervis Street Hospital and Christine was one of the first people to undergo a living donor transplant in Ireland when she was operated on at Jervis Street Hospital on March 1, 1974.

She received her new kidney from her sister Mary on the third anniversary of her wedding to husband, Martin.

Sadly Christine’s donor sister Mary, a mother of five children, passed away following breast cancer ten years ago.

Christine’s daughter, Sinead Kelly, says the family owe a lot to her late aunt.

“It’s thanks to Mary that my sister and I still have our mother with us today,

? Sinead said.

“Mary’s children share a great bond with my mother as part of her is still alive in Christine. At the young age of 22 when I was just one year old, my mother went into renal failure within days of giving birth to my baby sister Fiona.

She underwent dialysis for less than a year until her sister Mary, who herself had one child at the time, gave the ultimate gift to her sister, the

‘gift of life’.

“Mary went on to have four more children after this happy event. My mother always remembers to express her gratitude to Mary and on the anniversary of her transplant she used to send flowers to Mary and now marks the important event by putting flowers on her grave.

“My mother is fighting fit and enjoying life to the full. Decades after her transplant my mother also fought breast cancer as she carries the same brca1 gene as Mary had and just 18 months ago underwent open heart surgery.

?

Christine and Mary’s transplant was big news back in 1974 as living kidney donations were still a rarity back then. The story of the eight hour operation featured prominently in the Evening Herald and the now defunct Evening Press.

Mary told one of the reporters that she was surprised that people thought she was courageous for donating her kidney.

“I never thought about courage, or sacrifice or things like that,

? she said.

“I thought about my sister having to live the rest of her life on a machine.

“It was a very easy decision to make.

?

Last year 38 living donor kidney transplants were carried out at Beaumont Hospital. There was a record-breaking total of 294 transplants made in the country during 2013.

“Last year’s record figures of 294 transplants, which included 11 double transplant operations, was due to the generosity of families of 86 deceased donors,

? said Irish Kidney Association Chief Executive, Mark Murphy.

“This increase in transplants can also be attributed to the consistent record breaking Living Donor Programme at Beaumont Hospital, and a new source of deceased donors – cardiac death donors.

?

Organ Donor Cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association on 1890-543639 or by texting the word DONOR to 50050. More details can be found online at www.ika.ie.