Donation of son’s organs ‘has gifted his family hope’, mother says

A “very moved” Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly was reduced to lengthy silence after hearing the story of a 20-year-old Co Meath man whose organs were donated for transplantation after he died in a road crash.

A visibly emotional Mr Donnelly described the story of Aaron Cantwell, as told by his mother Naomi Dunleavy at the launch of Organ Donor Transplant Week, as “an inspiration”.

Ms Dunleavy’s organ donation story prompted the Minister to recall a “very dear friend of mine who had her life saved through transplantation”.

“I met her for the first time two weeks ago after she was sequestered during Covid. It’s amazing the difference it makes,” he said.

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Mr Donnelly said that it was “so important” to hear from the families of donors such as Ms Dunleavy. “It can’t be easy. I’ve three young boys myself”.

‘Such a sudden end’

Ms Dunleavy said she and her husband David and sons Adam and Aaron had spoken around the kitchen table a few times about organ donation. When the time came to make the decision about donating Aaron’s organs after the crash, the family’s view was that they “couldn’t bear the thought of his life coming to such a sudden end” if they were not.

“Although letting Aaron go is the most difficult decision my family have ever had to make, honouring his decision to donate his organs wasn’t,” she said, adding that the recipients of her son’s organs have gifted her family hope.

“Aaron’s spirit has moved on to a higher consciousness while here on earth four warriors safeguard his heart, kidneys and liver. My family is eternally grateful that Aaron is being protected in your care.”

Organ transplantation is proceeding at record levels this year as the service continues to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 81 transplants were performed in the first quarter, more than in the same period of any previous year, the Minister said. This year is the 60th anniversary of the first transplantation being carried out in Ireland.

“I am committed to increasing organ donation and transplantation rates in Ireland and to make organ donation the norm where possible,” Mr Donnelly said. “Enactment of the Human Tissue Bill will be an important step to achieving this.”

Consent

The Bill, which is currently before the Oireachtas, allows soft opt-out organ donation by deeming consent to have been given unless a person registers a wish not to become an organ donor after death.

A total of 250 transplantations were performed last year, up from 206 in 2021 but still below the pre-pandemic average of 283 between 2015 and 2019.

IKA chief executive Carol Moore said the latest transplantation figures offered encouragement and hope to people on waiting lists.

“It’s heartening also that as one of the milestones we mark this year is the 10th anniversary of the introduction of Code 115 on driver licences, that without any promotional activity, more than 1.45 million drivers, almost half of all licence holders, have indicated their willingness to be organ donors,” she said.

The IKA is looking forward to the Bill being transposed into law, she said, because it also allows for altruistic living kidney donation in Ireland, where the donor does not know the recipient. Currently, donors have to travel to Northern Ireland or overseas in order to donate altruistically.

Waiting lists

There are between 550 and 600 people on waiting lists for heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas transplants. The 250 transplants carried out last year were made possible by donations from the families of 86 deceased people and 33 living kidney donors.

Last year, 51 liver transplants and eight pancreas transplants took place at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, while 10 heart transplants and 18 lung transplants were carried out at the Mater Hospital. Some 163 kidney transplants were performed at Beaumont Hospital.

The theme of the association’s campaign this year is ‘Don’t Leave Your Loved Ones in Doubt!’, which aims to highlight the importance of talking to loved ones about organ donation.’

“I encourage everyone to have these conversations now,” Mr Donnelly said. “While I know talking about such issues can be uncomfortable, it will make it easier for your family to make this decision at what will inevitably be a difficult and tragic time.”