HealtH Matters 97
transplants
TIPPERARy COUPlE MADE
HISTORy WITH fIRST SPOUSE TO
SPOUSE KIDNEy DONATION
W
hen Deirdre Crowe discovered that she could help her ill
husband edward by giving him one of her kidneys she was
determined to do so. Deirdre, now a third-year nursing student,
discovered that spouse-to-spouse donation was possible while
attending a conference on kidney disease in the United states.
“It was the first time I realised that spouse-to-spouse donation
was possible. Up until then I thought the donor had to be a
biological match”, she recalls.
Deirdre and edward live in Carrick-on-suir in Co. tipperary and
have three children David (16), Niall (9) and sean (8). Ned, who
works in Clonmel with abbot laboratories, became ill with kidney
disease in 2004. He was on dialysis for two-and-a-half years
before the transplant operation in March 2008.
“our quality of life is very much
“We became the first couple in Ireland to do spouse-to-spouse
donation. It is possible now for a non-blood relative to donate
improved since the operation. i have
because the anti-rejection drugs have become so good.”
Before the operation Ned had been on the transplant list for
benefi ted because ned is well and
three years and one month with no sign of a matching donor.
our sons are delighted for him”
Deirdre and Ned underwent surgery in March 2008 and the
following May, Deirdre took her first year nursing exams. she is
now a third-year nursing student and has been on placement at
the South Tipperary General Hospital recently. They both have
nothing but praise for the unit in Beaumont Hospital where they
were cared for before and after the operation and the surgeons
involved. Before the operation Ned spent a lot of time on dialysis
in Waterford regional Hospital and in the Wellstone Centre in
Kilkenny.
“Our quality of life is very much improved since the operation. I have
benefited because Ned is well and our sons are delighted for him.”
Ned is working full time, playing badminton and jogging. He
is also hoping to participate in this year’s european Dialysis and
Transplant Games which are being held in Dublin. He took part in
the 2006 event in Hungary when he was a medal winner.
Deirdre would urge
everyone to carry a
donor card, “When
you are dead your
organs are no good
to you but they
can make all the
difference for one or
more people who
really need them.”
+ the Crowe Family –
sean, Deirdre, David,
edward and Niall.
HM Iss6.1 p71-128.indd 97 12/03/2010 15:27:23
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