Professor Charlotte McArdle, Chief Nursing Officer for Northern Ireland, celebrated Northern Ireland's “selfless” kidney donors who have given the gift of life to more than 2,000 people at World Kidney Day celebrations today, Thursday 14 March 2019.
In the 50 years since the transplant program was established in Belfast, more than 2,400 kidney transplants have been performed in patients aged between 2 and nearly 80 years old, including 661 from living donors – healthy people who donate one of their two kidneys to someone in need of a transplant. An incredible 545 people in Northern Ireland have received this gift of life in the past 10 years, many from people they know, but some from complete strangers.
Professor McArdle paid tribute to the living organ transplant team at Belfast City Hospital: “Belfast is now a world leader in living organ donation. Renal Transplant Consultant Dr Aisling Courtney and her team have transformed Belfast's living organ donation programme, which was recently recognised when she received the UK's first ever Award for Excellence in Organ Donation and Transplantation. In addition, Dr Paul Glover has been appointed Outstanding Clinical Lead for Organ Donation. Congratulations to all involved.”
“Northern Ireland is incredibly lucky to have a truly incredible transplant team and we are also incredibly lucky to have the highest number of living kidney donors per head of population in the world. There are many different reasons why people donate a kidney – some donate to a loved one and others to a complete stranger. Their selfless actions save so many lives and I am so touched by this.
“To mark World Kidney Day, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all donors who have donated a kidney. It is the greatest and kindest gift anyone can give and can completely change the life of someone who needs a kidney transplant. And I hope that more people will join the organ donor register.”
Dr Aisling Courtney, kidney transplant consultant at Belfast City Hospital, said: “It's hard to overestimate the difference between having a transplant and undergoing dialysis treatment – it's transformative.”
“Northern Ireland has made fantastic progress in living organ transplantation over recent years, but there are still many people across Northern Ireland on dialysis waiting for a kidney transplant. I encourage you to sign up to the organ donor register, speak to your family about your wishes, and of course, consider becoming a kidney donor while you are still alive and healthy.”
“The documentary 'Life on the List', which recently aired on local television, featured several of our patients at various stages of their treatment and revealed the process of donating a kidney to someone else. Since the programme finished, more than 80 people have volunteered to be tested to see if they are suitable to donate a kidney to someone in need, once again demonstrating the generosity of the people of Northern Ireland,” Dr Courtney said.
Not everyone who is suitable to donate a kidney is a suitable “mate” for a friend or family member. The UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme identifies possible “kidney swaps” between such donor-recipient pairs, allowing more people to benefit from living donor transplants. In Belfast, 89 transplants have been carried out thanks to the kidney exchange scheme, more than any other transplant centre in the UK.
Praising the transplant team's success, Dr Miriam McCarthy, Interim Commissioning Director at the Health and Social Care Board, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to congratulate this expert team on their continued achievements. Northern Ireland has an extremely high quality kidney transplant programme and an excellent surgical transplant team. The investment by HSCB has supported the transformation of the kidney transplant service, which has immeasurably changed the daily lives of recipient patients and their families.”
Further information about organ donation in Northern Ireland, including helpful resources, frequently asked questions, videos and how to join the organ donor register, can be found here: https://www.organdonationni.info/ or http://www.donatelife.co.uk/
Notes to editors:
1. The Department is a signatory to NHS Blood and Transplant's UK-wide strategy, 'Advancing Organ Donation to 2020', which calls for a change in how people think about consenting to organ donation and advocates a sustained and well-coordinated programme of communications activity to promote organ donation across the UK.
2. The latest statistics for Northern Ireland can be found here: https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/15238/nhsbt-northern-ireland-summary-report-jan-19.pdf
3. For media enquiries please contact the Department of Health Press Office team on 028 9052 0579 or email [email protected]. Outside office hours please call the duty press officer on 028 9037 8110 and we will return your call. Follow us on Twitter. health Alternatively, please contact the Belfast Trust Media office on 028 90 63 6464 or call 028 9056 5656 out of opening hours.
Share this page
