Tag Archives: organ donation

BUSY mum-of-three Geraldine Frost was raising a family, running a shop and holding down a job in a medical devices company, in the 1990s, when a routine blood test changed her life. As part of a routine medical, organised by her employer Analog Devices, high levels of a substance called creatinine were detected. “That can be a sign of kidney disease,” Geraldine explained. “I had been feeling very tired, but I put that down to being rushed off my feet. My mother had passed away, at the age of just 50, from kidney failure and, as it turned out, I was then diagnosed with a very rare type of kidney disease.” Because of her condition, Geraldine’s kidneys were no longer able to perform their normal function of filtering out impurities. This necessitated dialysis, a mechanical process to cleanse waste and fluid. The procedure, which has to happen several times a week, can lead to major restrictions in someone’s daily life. …

RUAN kidney dialysis patient, Mary Griffin was “shocked” when she was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at the age of 57. The mother of six, who will be on dialysis five years at the end of April, is still waiting for that all-important call for a new kidney, which would utterly transform her quality of life. Urging people to support the annual Organ Donor Awareness Week campaign, which runs from March 29 to April 5, she also requested support for all fundraising activities undertaken by the Clare branch of the Irish Kidney Association (IKA). Two years before Ms Griffin was officially diagnosed, she wasn’t feeling, sleeping or eating well and was complaining about discomfort in her stomach. She underwent a number of tests  but they didn’t detect any stomach problems. In October 2008, she went into hospital and was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at St John’s Hospital, Limerick, due to getting kidney infections. Her kidneys were functioning at 33% …

A BAREFIELD mother has revealed how her family has gained some comfort following the sudden tragic death of her husband, after his two kidneys were donated to a mother of six children. Bridie Purcell, of Ballyduff, Barefield, her son and three daughters were left devastated when Michael Purcell (67) died suddenly following an aneurysm in the brain on January 3, 2012. Affectionately known as Buddy, the father-of-four was  sorting a bale of silage with his friend, John Whelan, when he collapsed suddenly. Within an hour of babysitting her grandchildren, Bridie, who was 57 at the time, got a call to  leave the house, as Michael had been taken by ambulance. “I met him on the side of the road in an ambulance. I knew when I got into the ambulance that his eyes were dilated. Technically, he was on life support until they decided he was going downhill. “A team was waiting on standby at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin after …