Transplant athlete calls for more donors

A NEWMARKET man, who won a host of medals at the World Transplant Games in Croatia, has said increasing the numbers of organ donors could make a massive difference to many people’s quality of life.

Eoghan O’Neill is back in Ireland having won six medals in Croatia. He won three in swimming, gold in the 400m freestyle, a silver in the 4x50m freestyle relay and a bronze in the 50m medley relay.

He also took a silver for golf and in track and field he took bronze in the 200m sprint and silver in the 4x100m relay.
Eoghan said he really enjoyed the games. “It was a fantastic experience and there was a great buzz in the Irish team. I think we got 49 medals and that was the third-highest country.”

Eoghan said he would like to see the amount of organ donations increasing significantly. “I think the Government was talking about having an opt-out rather than an opt-in, where everyone would automatically be an organ donor. If something like that were to happen, it would be absolutely fantastic.
“Even over there [Croatia], I met so many people who need a transplant and some of them have been waiting up on 10 years for a transplant.
“They’re so weak and they don’t really have much of a life, you really are given the gift of life when you get an organ and a scheme like that would change so many lives. The transplant list would be way shorter if it was done.

“There are so many people waiting for years and years for a transplant and for a lot of them, there is no hope of getting a transplant. A lot of times when you go for a transplant you are assessed and if you ever got a transfusion, you’re going to have more antibodies in your blood or if you’re older, they say you mightn’t be strong enough to handle it, so people get put down the list. They might never get one.”

Eight years ago, Eoghan received a kidney transplant, which changed his life. “People who need a kidney can make a full recovery if they get one. I went from being very, very ill to competing in a full cross section of events and got really strong and fit.”
He is now back at home relaxing after his exertions in Croatia. “The heat out there was savage, one day it was 47 degrees. It was over 40 degrees every day but now I’m back enjoying the Irish weather.”