LAST UPDATE | 29 Dec 2022

SOME 250 ORGAN transplants took place in Ireland in 2022, the HSE has said.

The health service has thanked the 86 deceased and 33 living organ donors and their families who made the live-saving procedures possible.

Across the three national transplant centres, 163 kidney, 10 heart, 18 lung, 51 liver and eight pancreas transplants were completed.

Of the 163 kidney transplants, 33 were from living donors.

One transplant recipient, Patrick Eustace, said his “life-changing” kidney transplant has enabled him to live a “totally normal life” since the operation 25 years ago.

He said: “I’ve been incredibly lucky, and extremely grateful, that it has allowed me to live a totally normal life since. My thoughts are always with the donor family who made such an altruistic decision in what must have been a very dark space for them.

“I would suggest that people have a conversation with their next of kin to ensure their immediate family are aware of their intentions regarding organ donation. It may seem like a difficult topic to broach with loved ones but it can give reassurance to their family members in the event of their untimely passing.”

Dr Catherine Motherway, the clinical lead of the HSE’s Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland, said organ donors “are the very essence or our transplant programmes.

“It is sometimes hard to convey how much we appreciate their gift,” she said. “Behind each figure in this report are lives transformed by a transplant by virtue of the enormous generosity of families who, in the most difficult circumstances, honour their loved ones wishes by choosing to donate their organs.

“Each and every time we are humbled by the courage shown by our donor families.”

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly added: “Organ donation is an act of altruism, often made at times of great sadness and grief, which provides the recipients of donated organs with the gift of a new life.

“As we look back on this year,” he said, “we must remember that behind each of the 119 donations and 250 transplants that have taken place in 2022 are donors, recipients, and families whose lives have been changed forever.

“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to those families who have made the selfless decision to donate their loved ones’ organs, as well as the dedicated staff who make organ donation and transplantation possible.

Around 500 people in Ireland are waiting for a transplant at any time, some of whom will die before a suitable donor becomes available.

As new legislation on soft opt-out organ donation proceeds through the Oireachtas, the HSE and the Department of Health are urging people to have a conversation with their next of kin about their wishes with regard to organ donation.

"It literally is the gift of new life." Edel Cashman was gifted a new life when she received a liver transplant in 2018. Watch her story and #HaveThatConversation about organ donation with your family. pic.twitter.com/u8CA0esjzW

— HSE Ireland (@HSELive) December 18, 2022

The Irish Kidney Association (IKA) said it was “heartened to hear of the increase in organ donations and transplants compared to 2021 and 2020, starting to return to near pre-covid activity/levels.

The association said in a statement: “While welcoming the increase in transplantation numbers, the IKA believes the underpinning infrastructure is still fragile.

“The increase in kidney transplants from the pre COVID-19 five-year period, 2015 to 2019 average of 128 to 163 in 2022 is very encouraging. However, living donor kidney transplants have yet to return to pre COVID-19 levels. (33 living kidney transplants in 2022, compared to an average of 43 in the 2015 to 2019 period).”