Leitrim Village's Eileen grateful for kidney transplant

Eileen Gibbons from Leitrim Village is grateful for the kidney transplant she received in November 2022 which followed four years of dialysis treatment.

Eileen's kidney issues were diagnosed over two decades before while pregnant with her third child who was born six weeks prematurely. Eileen recovered well after the birth.

However, she was required to attend annual appointments with a Nephrologist at St Vincent's University Hospital, where her kidney function was monitored and managed through medication which slowed down its progression towards kidney failure.
It wasn't until 2015 that Elaine began to feel unwell and suffer fatigue as the deterioration of her kidneys gathered pace.

She progressed to end stage kidney failure in 2018 by which stage it was necessary for her to commence dialysis treatment.
For three years she underwent CAPD, a form of dialysis treatment which she underwent 4 times daily.

By 2021 she had progressed to Peritoneal dialysis, which involved her being connected to a dialysis machine for nine hours through the night.

Some of the many side effects of being on dialysis which Eileen experienced included restless legs, tiredness and she constantly felt cold.

Not only was her diet restricted but her lifestyle and freedom was also as she had to work her life around her treatment. When her daughter got married abroad last October (2022) Eileen brought her peritoneal dialysis machine with her.

She had been on the transplant waiting list for four years but she was categorised as a 'highly sensitised' patient which meant it would be difficult to find a suitable kidney match for her.

Her husband Seamus had gone through a series of rigorous testing to be accepted onto the UK paired exchange programme which, if successful, would have allowed him to donate to a stranger so that Eileen would be matched to receive a kidney from another donor.

Eileen received a call for a kidney transplant from Beaumont Hospital as a donor's kidney had been matched for her and this was just before the final stages of the paired exchange screening for her husband Seamus was completed.

Eileen said, “I never thought I would find a suitable donor and had resolved to be on dialysis forever.

“When I received the call from Beaumont Hospital to come for a transplant, it was very unexpected. A wave of mixed emotions swept over me - happiness tinged with sadness for the donor's family.

“ I think of my donor every day and I will always be grateful to them and for their family. Because of their selflessness and generosity, I no longer am tied to dialysis, my diet is no longer restricted, I can enjoy taking regular exercise, and I can enjoy the freedom of being able to do things spontaneously and look forward to the future.

“I am currently planning a trip to Spain in October for my other daughter's wedding and this time I will not have to take a dialysis machine with me!

“I'd like to express my gratitude to my family and friends for their unstinting support over the past few years. I'd also like to acknowledge the excellent care I received from my family GP and the medical and nursing staff at St. Vincent's Hospital who have cared for me since my diagnosis as well as the transplant team at Beaumont Hospital.

“But most of all I'd like to thank my kidney donor!”

Organ Donor Awareness Week 2023 will take place 20 - 27 May and is organised by the Irish Kidney Association (IKA) in association with the HSE’s Organ Donation Transplant Ireland (ODTI).

It is fitting that the lifesaving awareness campaign coincides with European Public Health Week. During Organ Donor Awareness Week people are being asked to make their wishes known to loved ones about organ donation.

This year’s Organ Donor Awareness Week campaign is built around the theme ‘Don’t Leave Your Loved Ones in Doubt!’ #LeaveNoDoubt. T

he key message is that members of the public can play their part in supporting organ donation for transplantation by ensuring that their families are not left in any doubt about their wishes around organ donation. i.e., they ‘have the conversation’.

Sharing your wishes when you are in good health makes it a less stressful decision for your family in the event of them being approached about you being a potential organ donor.

Supplies of organ donor cards attached to newly designed Z-cards, which are folded fact files to credit card size with updated information on organ donation and transplantation, will be available in countertop boxes for display in Post Offices, pharmacies and other retail outlets, places of work, community centres, and other outlets.  

Last year saw an increase in the number of kidney transplant taking place at Beaumont Hospital - 163 kidney transplants took place of which 33 were from Living Kidney Donors. There are 2,466 kidney patients in Ireland in end stage kidney failure undergoing dialysis treatment but only approximately one fifth of these are on the transplant waiting list.