'It should be donations by default' - man awaiting kidney transplant

“If everybody who believes that organ donations are important carried an Organ Donor Card, there would be a lot more organ transplants taking place in Ireland,” is how Aodhagan Cullen describes the current situation, writes Thomas Lyons.

Aodhagan is a dialysis patient awaiting a kidney and pancreas transplant. The 39-year-old Mullahoran man is talking to the Celt about the National Organ Donor Awareness Week.
“There needs to be more done about getting people to sign up to donor cards.  There is not enough of a push. At present the option is on a driving licence but I think that it should be donations by default, unless people want to opt out,” Aodhagan says.
His journey to this point has been a tough road: “I am a diabetic since I was three years of age. I had a lot of trouble with it when I was growing up. Later on, when I was about 10 or 12, they told me my kidneys were giving me trouble. I looked after myself and took ever consideration to slow any deterioration down, which I did until about five years ago.
“I was getting bloods done every six months in Dublin but then my bloods began to go up and there was no stop to it, it hit me really quick. Initially I did Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) dialysis at home. Now I get treated in Cavan General three days a week.”
Addhgan describes his lot as “a tough situation” but remains positive: “ I get a lot of support from my my employer and my family. I work in CG Power Systems Ireland Ltd. They accommodate me 100%. I am in Cavan General on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the hospital. I go to work early to get a days work before I come into hospital and spend four and a half hours.”
He will continue his dialysis while waiting on a transplant that would be step toward a more normal life. “At the minute I can't make plans to do anything. If you go anywhere, it is only for a day because you have to be back the next day for dialysis. I have to watch my diet and my fluid intake. On dialysis you don't pass water so there are a lot of restrictions. It is not easy but, when you get used to it, it just comes to you.”
Organ Donor Cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association on 1890 543639 , or by texting the word DONOR to 50050. You can now download the IKA’s new digital donor card by visiting www.donor.ie on your smartphone.

* See this week's Celt to hear other local stories in National Organ Donor Awareness Week including from a Virginia woman whose late wife donated her organs and a Kingscourt man who underwent a double lung transplant and is planning to run the New York marathon to give something back. We also have details of a new website launched to support patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).