Born four minutes apart in the same maternity hospital, the two women's 50-year friendship was cemented when one woman donated a kidney to save the lives of a sick friend and stranger.
Westmeath women Sheila Hanevi and Éine Cornelly appeared on The Late Late Show to highlight the Irish Kidney Association's Organ Donation Awareness Week, which begins on Saturday 23rd April, and told their story of triumph over adversity.
Sheila had a kidney transplant as a teenager, but 15 years later her kidney failed: there were no suitable donors in her family, and neither Ain nor her husband Brian Wickham were a match.
Brian then saw a program about paired kidney exchanges, where a willing donor and a patient participate in a kidney exchange program within a chain of other people in the same situation.
Sheila asked Colm Magee, a consultant at Beaumont Hospital who has been looking after her kidney care since she was a teenager, about the Paired Kidney Exchange Scheme – she was one of the first Irish patients to take part in the programme in 2011.
Brian and Sheila travelled to Coventry and, after undergoing tests, were confirmed to be accepted into the pair exchange programme. But it was 19 years before Sheila's second transplant, and Ain joined the programme in the hope that he too could become a donor. There was one failed attempt which was called off at the last minute in January 2019. The chain was broken when Sheila contracted an infection.
Originally from Westmeath, the pair grew up in the village of Ballymore, near Moat, went to school together and then shared a flat in Dublin before eventually settling. Aine and Brian Wickham settled in Rathmines and have three children together, two daughters aged 17 and 24 and a son, aged 21. Sheila lives in Maynooth with her partner Pat Dunne.
In March 2019, Aine donated her kidney to a stranger, allowing Sheila, who had been on dialysis for 19 years, to receive a kidney in return.
Sheila began dialysis treatments in 1983 when she was just 15 years old. Speaking about her health journey, she said: “I was on the transplant list for seven years and received a transplant that lasted for 15 years. I am so grateful to my kidney donor family for giving me this life-changing new lease on life. I went back on dialysis and was on the transplant list for 19 years. I was one of the first patients to take part in the Paired Exchange Programme in Coventry in 2011 and received my transplant in March 2019. Thanks to my best birth friend Aine donating her kidney to a stranger in London, I have successfully received a kidney from an altruistic female donor in Scotland.”
“Aine and I were born in the same hospital on the same day in 1968. She is four minutes older than me. We grew up together and are still best friends. She is like my sister and a very special person who has given me the amazing gift of life.”
Aine, who works in markets and finance at Bank of Ireland, says: “Sheila and I were like sisters, she had a key to the house and our children grew up with her. We all watched her health decline over the years but she was an incredibly strong-willed woman and rarely wavered due to her kidney failure. Despite her kidney failure, she continued to work in finance and never let her colleagues know that she was going into hospital for dialysis treatment when she left work at 5pm. We all watched her decline over the years and it was heartbreaking to see her needing to hold on to my arm to support her when we went for walks. She never carried her luggage lightly and when she came to stay with us, our children helped her carry it as she didn't have the strength to carry it into the house. But she was always joyful and never let her predicament get the better of her. I feel truly honoured that I was able to donate my kidney and that she was able to receive one in return and I hope that the recipient of my kidney is doing well.”
- Those who wish to support organ donation are encouraged to carry an organ donor card, have code 115 written on their driver's licence or install a “digital organ donor card” app on their smartphone to share their wishes and be reminded of their decision.
- You can apply for an organ donor card on the IKA website. ika.ie/Get your donor card
- Alternatively call 01 6205306 or freetext the word DONOR to 50050.
- For more information, ika.ie/donorweek2022
