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Photographed at the launch of Organ Donor Week (29th March-5th April) at Rochestown Park Hotel this week, were Jerry Buttimer TD, Chairperson Joint Committee on Health and Children; Brendan Hannon, Mitchelstown; Noreen Hannon, Hon. Sec. Cork Branch IKA and transplant recipient; Michael Kiely, transplant recipient from Mitchelstown; Cllr. Kevin Murphy, deputising for Mayor Cork County, Dr. Liam Plant, Nephrology Consultant CUH and Tom O’Halloran, Ballylanders. Photo: Mike English

There are a number of people across Mitchelstown and surrounding areas who have seen first hand the importance of organ donors and this week, the Cork branch of The Irish Kidney Association launched Organ Donor Awareness Week, which takes place from March 29-April 5.

More than 70 people attended the launch, as well as medical and nursing staff from CUH and the Mater Private Hospital in Cork.

Noreen Hannon, originally from Ballylanders but now living in Mitchelstown, works for the Cork branch to promote organ donor awareness and spoke to The Avondhu about her own experience.

Noreen received her kidney transplant a year ago, but her father Tom in Ballylanders, has now been waiting nine years for a kidney transplant. She said that her life has been transformed since the transplant and she is so grateful to her unknown donor and the donor family and they are never far from her thoughts.

Noreen added that all of the speakers at the launch acknowledged the generosity of the public and the many lives that have been saved to date through organ donation.

Organ donation is something that would affect many people in Mitchelstown and surrounding areas, as there are at least five people locally waiting on transplants, while many more have seen their lives transformed through transplants.

IMPROVEMENTS NECESSARY

Jerry Buttimer launched the Organ Donor Awareness Week in The Rochestown Park Hotel on Monday and spoke movingly about the importance of organ donation. He also spoke about the improvements which are needed and what has been implemented so far, since the Oireachtas Health Committee Hearings, which were held on April 18 and 25 last in Leinster House. 

These hearings were attended by two members of the Cork Branch, Noreen Hannon, secretary and Michael Kiely. Since these hearings, Minister Reilly announced in Budget 2014 that a further €2.9 million would be set aside solely for improvements in organ donation. 

At present, the Health Service are recruiting more medical staff in order to improve the organ donation rates and also, more donor co-ordinators are being rolled out into hospitals around the country, which will assist the current five donor co-ordinators presently in Beaumont Hospital. 

In 2013, a total of 147 patients received deceased donor kidney transplants and 38 patients received a kidney from a living related donor. To bring the donor rates in line with the rest of Europe and in order to reduce the number of patients awaiting kidney transplants, there would need to be an increase of between 250 and 300 kidney transplants per year.

Noreen stressed that anyone who has a donor card needs to sign it and speak to their family to make their wishes known, but she added that even if they don't have a card and they tell their family that they want to be organ donors, their wishes will be known.

To become an organ donor free text 'DONOR' to 50050 or download the ECARD App to your smartphone from www.ika.ie. Anyone who wishes to find out more about organ donation, wishes to volunteer with the Cork branch, wants to carry out fundraisers or wishes to host a talk about organ donation in a school, can contact Noreen Hannon on 086 2755754 or email secretarycork.ika@gmail.com.

On Thursday next, a fundraising coffee morning for the IKA will be held upstairs in The Clongibbon House in Mitchelstown from 10am until 1.30pm and all support would be greatly appreciated.

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