Nevaeh’s organs saved the lives of five people
By Brendan Grehan
LAST WEEK, Organ Donor Awareness Week was launched in the Mansion House. Among the guests were Crystal and Emmett Spollen, originally from Lucan, who now live in Kinnegad.
In November 2014, their nine-year-old daughter Nevaeh died after suffering a brain haemorrhage. Nevaeh’s organ’s saved the lives of four schoolboys aged nine to 12 and a 34-year-old woman. Crystal told The Echo that it is important to promote organ donor awareness.
At a reception at the Aras on St Patrick's Day were President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina with Emmett and Crystal Spollen from Lucan
She said: “It is nearly four years since Nevaeh passed away and she is always in our hearts. Organ donor awareness is so important, Nevaeh saved the lives of four boys and one woman. We know there are five other families who didn’t have to say goodbye to a loved one. We think it’s very important to talk about organ donation and we do what we can to raise awareness of the issue.”
Nevaeh began to suffer from headaches a couple of months before her death. A few days before she passed away she spotted her mother’s organ donation card and asked her what it was for.
Crystal said: “I explained to her what they were for and she thought it was such a great idea. I hope she knows now how many lives she has saved through organ donation.”
Also at the launch was heart transplant recipient Ken Mulkerrins (39) from Lucan. Ken underwent his transplant in March 2016.
Formerly on the Irish Freestyle Kayaking Team for 10 years. He plans to cycle from Dublin to Galway this summer.
Last Tuesday, a large gathering of people involved in organ donation and transplantation attended the official launch of Organ Donor Awareness Week 2018 .
Mark Murphy CEO, Irish Kidney Association told The Echo: “We have come a long way since the Irish Kidney Association began and at that time in 1978 there were only three places in Ireland for patients with kidney failure to undergo dialysis treatment. Today there are 23 locations around the country.
“2017 was a record year for organ transplantation for Ireland with a total of 327 organs being transplanted into 321 patients including a total of 23 children/paediatric transplants.”
The key message of Organ Donor Awareness Week is that families need to talk to each other about organ donation and keep the reminders of their willingness to donate visible by carrying the organ donor card and permitting Code 115 to be included on their driver’s license.
Organ Donor Cards can also be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association tel. 01 6205306 or Free text the word DONOR to 50050. Visit their website at https://www.ika.ie/
TAGS news
