Irish family that needed six kidney transplants are so grateful to be been given a second chance at life Our whole family feel very lucky that so many of us have been given a second chance
08:17, 6 APR 2021
Updated
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A woman who donated a kidney to her sister in one of six family transplants says they are so lucky to have been given a second chance at life.
A family have shared their story of organ transplants, as six of their family have received kidney transplants throughout the years.
Four years ago, Emma O’Connor gave her older sister Louise Cowman the gift of life when she donated her kidney to the mum of twins. Louise said her transplant “was like winning the lotto.”
Their father Joe Fitzpatrick has also become a kidney recipient - as well as an uncle, aunts, and two cousins.
The Irish family are sharing their kidney transplant story in support of Organ Donor Awareness week which ran from March 27– April 3.
The family carry a rare hereditary kidney condition called Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), which over time causes loss of kidney function. The family say they are “grateful” for the opportunities kidney transplants have granted them.
Sixth kidney transplant was icing on the cake for family celebrating nurse s wedding
The wedding took place three days after Ms Downes uncle, Brendan McCarthy, underwent a successful kidney transplant in Sweden from a deceased donor.
Anna Downes, the recipient of a kidney donation, and her newly married daughter Fiona.
Mon, 05 Apr, 2021 - 16:54
Ciarán Sunderland
A family gifted six kidneys by organ donors through the years have celebrated another successful transplant and the wedding of Fiona Downes during Organ Donor Awareness Week 2021.
Ms Downes, a clinical nurse specialist in the Transplant Unit at Beaumont Hospital, enjoyed her special day joined by her father, Noel Downes, and her mother, Anne, who underwent a kidney transplant five years ago.
Transformed family who received six kidney transplants Hereditary condition called Polycystic Kidney Disease takes heavy toll of generations
Mon, Apr 5, 2021, 21:54 Aine Kenny
Emma O’Connor with her son Callum; Emma’s kidney recipient sister Louise Cowman with her twins Aoife and Andrew. Photograph: Lisa Trainer
A family affected by a hereditary kidney condition who have received six kidney donations between them want to raise awareness of organ donation and express their gratitude to their donors.
Four years ago, Dundalk hairdresser Emma O’Connor gave her older sister Louise Cowman one of her kidneys.
Just last week, the sisters’ cousin, who lives in Sweden, underwent a kidney transplant there from a deceased donor.
HALIFAX A family in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley is appealing to potential donors in hopes of finding their mother a new kidney. Joanne Rose, 62, was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease about 40 years ago. After spending her professional career helping hundreds of others as a registered nurse, she and her family are now hoping for a similar kind of help. Joanne is in need of a new kidney. It is the ultimate gift for someone to even consider it, said Joanne. Joanne suffered kidney failure in 2010 and endured a failed kidney transplant four years later. As a result, she has been doing hemodialysis ever since.