A DOUBLE LUNG transplant recipient is calling on people to discuss organ donation with their loved ones, describing how a “gift of life” saved her.

Irene McGrath (54) was diagnosed with scleroderma when she was in her mid-30s, an autoimmune condition that can cause lung fibrosis, a form of scarring that gradually restricts breathing.

She said the illness slowly took away her ability to carry out everyday tasks, such as walking up stairs or inclines.

“They put me on oxygen by night, then I went to full-time oxygen,” she said.

McGrath was placed on the transplant waiting list around nine years ago.

During that time, she was called to Dublin six times for a potential organ match, but none proved suitable.

She said each call carried a mixture of hope and heartbreak.

“There’s pure sadness there, and heartbreak.”

When her condition worsened, she was admitted to the Mater hospital in Dublin for nine weeks, where she remained under close care while awaiting a suitable donor.

She said the admission was due to the severity of her condition at the time, as she was no longer safe to manage at home on high levels of oxygen.

“My condition had worsened, I could barely get out of the bed,” she said.

Irene in hospital a week before receiving her transplant.

McGrath received her transplant in 2020, just as medical staff were discussing palliative care with her family.

“Had I not got the transplant that weekend, I wouldn’t be here today,” she said. “They were sending me home, you know, to pass peacefully at home.”

After receiving her double lung transplant, McGrath was back home after six weeks and is now back playing sports, going to the gym and going on holidays.

She is now regularly attending a lung fibrosis support group and says “it’s great to have someone to talk to, you know, not even about medication, not about specialists, just to sit and relax and have the chat.”

She said she thinks regularly of her donor and their family.

 ”I pray for him or her everyday,” she said. “I’m so delighted the family made the choice to donate their organs, or I wouldn’t be here today.”

Irene and her husband Gary on their wedding day, when she first started experiencing breathlessness.

McGrath is now using her experience to encourage families to talk openly about organ donation.

She said many people misunderstand Ireland’s new “soft opt-out” system, introduced in 2024, where people are presumed willing to donate unless they have formally registered otherwise.

However, she stressed that family consent is ultimately the deciding factor.

The same goes for carrying an organ donor card, or having 115 on your driving licence, a code that indicates you’re an organ donor.

“They’re not going to retrieve an organ unless they have the permission of the loved ones,” she said, “irrespective of opt in, opt out, they have to get the final decision from the loved ones, which is only right and fair.”

About 650 people are waiting on an organ transplant in Ireland, with about 500 of those waiting for a kidney.

Only 1–2% of people die in circumstances where organ donation can be considered.

Organ Donation Awareness Week is organised by the Irish Kidney Association and runs from 16-23 May.