THE family of a young Galway woman who died last month has been comforted this week by news that the organs donated from her body were used in a ground breaking operation in the UK.
A total of six people have undergone life saving transplant surgery since the death of GeraldineHannon (30), from Ballygaddy Road, Tuam, following a brain haemorrhage in London last month.
Now the Haanon family has learned that one of the transplant recipients, Ms Pauline Greaves (36), has made history by becoming the first person in Britain to receive a new pancreas during a four hour operation.
Five others who received transplants of the heart, lungs, kidneys and liver following Geraldine Hannon's death are also making good progress.
The dead woman's mother, Mrs Liz Hannon, has decided to speak publicly about the operations in the hope that more people will become aware of the benefits of carrying donor cards.
Yesterday Mrs Hannon, who looks forward to meeting the transplant recipients one day, recalled handing the doctors her daughter's donor cards after her death.
"I always knew she carried a donor card. All my family carry them.
"When you die, why throw everything into a coffin if you can make somebody else happy? I feel she's never going to be dead as long as those people who received transplants are alive," she said.
The Regional Transplant Co ordinators in London wrote to the Hannon family giving some details of those who received transplants.
The first recipient was a 48 year old married woman who was suffering from lung disease and had a heart and lung transplant.
As her own heart was healthy this was later donated to a 51 year old man. The patient is now recovering slowly, according to the Regional Transplant Co ordinator, Dr Jan Scott.
Two others received kidney transplants: a 55 year old woman who had been on dialysis for the past 24 years and a 48 year old man who had been on dialysis for two years. A 50 year old woman had a liver transplant.
The final recipient was Ms Greaves, a social worker who has been a chronic diabetic since the aged of 14 and only two weeks ago lay dying in a hospital bed.
She has spent nearly four years on life support machines during her long illness. Since the transplant, she has made excellent progress.
She is now looking forward to a holiday back packing in Australia and an active life free from the need for and discomfort of regular insulin injections.
The surgeon who performed the operation, Mr Nadey Hakim, pointed out that its success would give hope to thousands of people in Ms Greaves's position.