Irish woman donates a kidney to save her friend who was born just four minutes apart from her in the same hospital

This living donation involved kidneys transported between London, Coventry and Scotland

Best friends since they were born four minutes apart in the same hospital in 1968, Aine volunteered for a living donation to help Sheila

Born four minutes apart in the same maternity hospital, an enduring friendship spanning five decades has been copper-fastened as one woman came to the rescue of her ailing friend and a stranger by donating a kidney. 

Westmeath women Sheila Hanevy and Aine Cornally went on the Late Late Show to share their story of triumph over adversity to highlight the Irish Kidney Association's Organ Donor Awareness Week which starts on Saturday, April 23.

Sheila had received a kidney transplant as a teenager and this kidney failed 15 years later. There weren't suitable donors in Sheila's family and neither Aine nor her husband, Brian Wickham were a match.

Then Brian saw a programme about a paired exchange kidney swap: a willing donor and patient are entered into a programme to do a kidney swap in a chain of other people in the same situation. 

Sheila enquired about the paired exchange kidney programme with consultant Colm Magee at Beaumont Hospital who has been looking after her kidney care since she was a teen. And she was one of the first Irish patients to go into that programme in 2011.

Brian and Sheila made a trip to Coventry and underwent tests after which it was confirmed they could be accepted onto the paired exchange programme. But the road to Sheila’s second transplant took 19 years, with Aine also going into the programme in the hope that she could be a donor. There was one failed attempt which was called off at the eleventh hour in January 2019. The chain was broken as Sheila got an infection.

The Westmeath natives who grew up in the village of Ballymore near Moate, attended school together before sharing a flat in Dublin when they came to work there where they eventually settled. Aine and Brian Wickham settled down in Rathmines and had three children: two girls, ages 17 and 24 and a boy aged 21. Sheila lives in Maynooth with her partner Pat Dunne.

In March 2019 when Aine donated a kidney to a stranger so that Sheila, who had been on dialysis for 19 years, could receive a kidney in return.

Sheila and Aine: the Irish Kidney Association's Organ Donor Awareness Week starts on Saturday, April 23

Sheila started dialysis treatment in 1983 when she was just 15 years old. She described her health journey: "I was on the transplant list for seven years and received a transplant that lasted for 15 years and I am very grateful to the family of the kidney donor who gave me this transformational new lease of life. I went back on dialysis and I was on the transplant list for 19 years. I was one of the first patients to go into the paired exchange programme in 2011 in Coventry and I received a transplant in March 2019. My best friend from birth, Aine, donated a kidney to a stranger in London to enable me to get a successful kidney from an altruistic female donor from Scotland."

"Aine and I were born in the same hospital on the same day in 1968. She is 4 minutes older than me. We have grown up together and are still best friends to this day. She is like my sister and a very special person to give such a generous gift of life.”

Aine who works in Markets and Treasury at Bank of Ireland, said: “Sheila and myself are like sisters, she has a key to our house and our children grew up with her being around. We all watched her health deteriorate over the years but she is a formidable and determined lady and very seldom let her kidney failure get to her. Despite her failing kidneys she worked all the way through in Finance and never let any of her colleagues know when she was clocking off at 5pm that she was heading into hospital for dialysis treatment. We could all see her deteriorate over the years and it was heart-breaking to watch as when we used to go for walks she would have to link into my arm for support. She never travelled light and when she came to stay in our house, my kids would help her with her bags as she didn’t have the strength to carry them into the house. But she was always good fun and never dwelled on her plight. It is such an honour to be able to donate a kidney so she could get one in return and I hope the recipient of the one I donated is still doing well."

Organ Donor Awareness Week: April 23-30

• People who wish to support organ donation are encouraged to Share their Wishes and keep the reminders of their decision available by carrying the organ donor card, permitting Code 115 to be included on their driver’s licence or having the ‘digital organ donor card’ App on their smartphone.
• Organ Donor Cards can be requested by visiting the IKA website ika.ie/get-a-donor-card
• or call 01 6205306 or Free text the word DONOR to 50050
• For more details log on to ika.ie/donorweek2022