Appeal on World Kidney Day
Cavan Monaghan branch of Irish Kidney Association to hold information event this weekend
- Róisín McManus -
The Cavan/Monaghan Branch of the Irish Kidney Association will hold a Renal Patients Information Day in the Hotel Kilmore this weekend.
“The purpose of the day is to let patients know what their journey entails and ease their worries,” Paul Anthony Donohoe tells the Celt.
The branch chair and renal dialysis patient made the appeal today (Thursday) on World Kidney Day, March 12.
The Irish Kidney Association is urging people to take care of their kidney health and get tested as early detection and intervention can help reduce avoidable suffering.
The Association is a 25-branch organisation, run primarily by volunteers, who provide support to renal patients across Ireland.
Cavan man Paul Anthony Donohoe has been a volunteer with the Irish Kidney Association for thirty years, and has previously served as National Chairman, National Treasurer and National Secretary.
For the past four years, Paul has been Chairman of the Cavan/Monaghan branch of the Irish Kidney Association.
Paul has been a renal patient all his life. At the age of 30, he received a transplant that lasted him for 27 years.
Since late 2021, after initially receiving treatment in Tallaght University Hospital, Paul has been attending the renal dialysis unit in Cavan General Hospital for four hours, three days per week.
“The renal dialysis unit here in Cavan is excellent,” Paul tells the Celt.
“It’s really well run and there’s a fantastic staff, very dedicated. We’re very well looked after, there’s a good atmosphere and they’re very accommodating.”
“I would confidently say that the renal dialysis unit in Cavan is one of the best in Ireland.”
Last year, the renal dialysis unit in Cavan General Hospital celebrated thirty years of service.
To mark World Kidney Day, the staff of the renal dialysis unit set up an information stall in the front corridor of the hospital.
On Saturday, March 14, the Cavan/Monaghan Branch of the Irish Kidney Association will hold a Renal Patients Information Day in the Hotel Kilmore to provide information and support to all renal patients in the region.
“The purpose of the day is to let patients know what their journey entails and ease their worries,” Paul tells the Celt.
“It’s up to the Irish Kidney Association to ease the burden for people.”
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) affects approximately one in ten adults in Ireland, and one in seven among those over the age of 50.
CKD is often described as a ‘silent condition’ as an estimated 98% of people in the early stages are unaware they have it.
The risk of having CKD increases if you have diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, a family history of kidney disease, are over 50 or use certain over the counter medications long-term.
At the end of 2025, 2,617 people were receiving dialysis treatment in Ireland, more than three times the 821 people receiving treatment in 2000.
In 2024, the number of patients on the kidney transplant waiting list was 559.
By 2040, kidney disease is projected to become the fifth leading cause of death worldwide.
Please read the full interview with Paul in next week’s print edition of The Anglo-Celt.