mother of teenager waiting for heart transplant supported a campaign to create organ donation “opt out”.
Catriona Yasar’s son Shahin is in the hospital’s intensive care unit. Mater Hospital Speaking in Dublin, she said: “Every day, every minute, every hour, we wait for the call that we have a suitable heart.”
She added: “Technically he is the sickest and youngest adult on Ireland’s heart transplant list.”
Shahin, 15, was diagnosed with four separate heart conditions when he was just five weeks old, but has led a relatively normal life, spending St. Patrick’s Weekend with family and friends. I was looking forward to it.
Last November, Catriona claimed for the second time in her life that something was wrong, even though it wasn’t her, before doctors could diagnose the problem.
she said: “When he was a few weeks old, we realized something was wrong with him.
“I’ve taken him to the emergency room five times since he was two weeks old. I was even told he had Munchausen syndrome.
“Shahin was not eating properly, he was sweating behind his head, and even though he was sleeping he was screaming as if someone had stabbed him with a pin. He slowly lost weight. Ta.”
At the fifth visit, the doctors decided to transfer him to the next hospital. Crumlin Children’s Hospital Within an hour, he went into cardiac arrest.
Catriona said: “He had a severe heart attack when he was five weeks old.
“They literally found out and he went to the ICU.”
Shahin from Coolock in the north dublinfought back and was discharged from the hospital in nine weeks.
He had been diagnosed with a serious heart condition called tachycardia cardiomyopathy, an arrhythmia, and two murmurs.
Shahin takes medication and undergoes regular tests.
Catriona said: “He was living a normal life, but on the advice of doctors he had to stop playing sports because he was close to developing adult idiopathic heart syndrome.
“Despite my heart condition, I had no restrictions, spent time with friends, and remained healthy and active.”
But Catriona refused to believe it a second time last November when she suffered from low blood pressure and doctors ignored her concerns.
She took him to the emergency room for the third time in four days because she heard little moans as he took a breath.
“Within 20 minutes he started vomiting blood and then he started vomiting blood,” Catriona said.
He had severe pneumonia and was admitted to the intensive care unit at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin on November 21st.
His lungs were failing and doctors feared he would have to be put on life support for a while, but Sahin pulled through.
Shahin is currently staying at Mater, where he underwent open-heart surgery to have a device installed to keep his heart beating while he waits for a transplant.
Catriona said: “We are waiting for calls every minute of every day.
“It would be a great decision, but I also know that someone else would lose a loved one if it were to happen.” She said she would make opt-in for organ donation the default position. He added that it was important for Ireland to talk about this.
Everyone would then be an organ donor, and everyone would have to opt out of becoming a donor.
Shahin’s father, Abdulrahman, said: “If we have organs, we can save 16 people.
“Not only will it make their lives easier, it will save their lives.”
Catriona says: “I like the French system where only 1,000 people can opt out of organ donation each year. So the government makes sure there are enough people on the donor list.
Sahin has not been able to return home with his parents and siblings Leo, 13, and Saeed, 7.
Catriona added: “All he wants is to go home.
“The Make-A-Wish Foundation asked him twice what he wanted. He said, ‘I want to go home.'”
