Last week was Organ Donor Awareness Week, and no one recognizes the importance of organ donation more than the McElhinney twins, Rush, Jill, and Leona.
Jill recently attended a birthday party for a friend who also received a lung transplant, joining a group of nine friends who are still here thanks to the life-saving surgery.
Jill's younger sister, Amy (26), was unable to attend this year's special birthday party as she is still recovering from surgery in February.
Without the generosity of the families of the 10 deceased donors, this group of friends united through a genetic illness would not be alive today.
They were all on the brink of death until they received a lifeline from a donor stranger.
Two weeks ago, nine people who had been friends for many years came together for the first time since being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF).
Some of my friends I had never met in person before, and some I met at a CF clinic.
They all became a supportive network of friends through social media and phone messages.
A 30th birthday celebration for one of their recent transplant friends, Newbridge native Leona Henry, brought them together.
She died just over a year after her brother Thomas Henry, 27, who also has CF, underwent a lung transplant in June 2013, until a lung transplant saved his life in July 2014. This milestone birthday was celebrated in a special way.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of lung transplants and the 30th anniversary of heart transplants at the Mater Hospital in Dublin city centre.
Organ Donor Awareness Week 2015, organized by the Irish Kidney Association, features broadcaster Mary Kennedy appearing in radio ads and posters encouraging people to support organ donation.
The focus of Organ Donor Awareness Week is to raise awareness of the ever-increasing demand for transplants that depend on the nation's organ donations.
Families should always demonstrate their intention to donate by speaking and carrying an organ donation card, downloading a smartphone app, and allowing code 115 to appear on their driver's license.
The Irish Kidney Association is the national organization responsible for promoting and distributing organ donor cards in Ireland, representing Organ Donation and Transplantation Ireland.
This year, IKA is introducing a different fundraising method.
Text “kidney'' to 50300 and 2 euros will be donated to IKA from your mobile phone account.
A free information fact file to accompany your Organ Donor Card is available from the Irish Kidney Association, as well as from pharmacies and GPs nationwide.
Organ donor cards can also be obtained by calling the Irish Kidney Association LoCall 1890 543639 or by free texting the word DONOR to 50050. Visit our website www.ika.ie.
You can now save your organ donor card “ecard” on your smartphone. Search for “Donor ECard” in the iPhone Store or Android Market Place.
