Transplant recipient is urging people to sign up

AN ORGAN transplant recipient has shared her story of the difference a kidney transplant has made to her quality of life – and is urging people to sign up to be organ donors.

Lisa Fitzgerald, 42, from Kiltipper in Tallaght, received a kidney transplant from a deceased donor in February 2019, after her kidneys began to fail following her second pregnancy in 2017.

The mother-of-two had to undergo dialysis treatment four times a day and experienced fatigue, headaches and a lack of appetite until she received her transplant.

“There’s a long process to get on the transplant list,” Ms Fitzgerald told The Echo. “There are a lot of appointments.

“Having had the call [that I was going to receive a transplant], it was a shock, but it was life-changing.

“It was very unexpected, and completely changed my wellbeing from being a sick mother of two young children, who had to do dialysis four times a day.

“Since receiving the transplant, it’s like [dialysis and kidney failure] was never a part of my life.

“After the transplant, I instantly knew by the look of myself and how I was moving that I was getting better.”

She added: “The recovery is a really big recovery, but you always remember that someone kindly donated their organ to you, and that gives you the strength to get better and better.”

Ms Fitzgerald also shared her appreciation for the work of transplant surgeons and appeared in a photocall marking Global Surgery Day last Thursday, May 25, in St Vincent’s University Hospital.

The photocall was organised by the Irish Kidney Association and supported by Organ Donation Transplant Ireland and location host St Vincent’s University Hospital.

It brought together transplant surgeons and transplant recipients on the 60th anniversary of the first transplant in Ireland, a kidney transplant which took place at the old St Vincent’s Hospital on St Stephen’s Green.

Ms Fitzgerald’s transplant was carried out by Ms Dilly Little, the surgical director of the National Kidney Transplant Service, in Beaumont Hospital.

“Without those surgeons dedicating their time and studying, we wouldn’t be in a position where transplants could be done,” explained Ms Fitzgerald.

“It’s a very intense job, and it’s a matter of life and death when they do that surgery.”

Global Surgery Day coincided with Organ Donor Awareness Week, which Ms Fitzgerald is a strong proponent of, having seen first-hand the difference that organ donation can make.

“Organ donation is one of those things where people don’t realise when they’re going to need it,” she said, and urged people to discuss with their families their wishes about organ donation.

Further information and digital organ donor cards are available on the Irish Kidney Association’s website.