Billie pleads with public to carry donor cards
Billy Burke said he was “very upset” to hear callers to radio shows urging people to tear up their cards in protest at the refusal of doctors in Newcastle, England, to release organs for his transplant.
“Rather than telling people not to give organs, I take the completely opposite view,” he said.
“I want to use every opportunity to highlight the need for donors. It’s the only chance of life that people like me have. I say to people, ‘Don’t lose faith.’ By carrying cards, they give others the most amazing gift anyone can give.”
Mr Burke, from Killorglin, Co Kerry, is suffering from cystic fibrosis and fears he could die soon unless he is given a double lung transplant.
A hospital in Manchester is willing to carry out a lung transplant on him, and he remains on a priority list for an operation there.
But he would not comment on calls to take legal action against the Government.
“It’s in the hands of the medical people. I’m hoping they’ll do it for me. All I have is hope,’ he said.
At last Monday’s protest rally in Killorglin, hundreds of organ donor cards were handed out.
“We placed a re-order,” said Billy’s sister Lisa Joyce-Burke. “We ran out of organ donor cards at the rally. If anyone has thrown away their card, we would appeal to them to have a re-think.”
Chief executive of the Irish Kidney Association, Mark Murphy, is also worried about the public’s negative reaction to the donor card system.
Mr Murphy said people were reacting to the shared organ donation arrangement between Ireland and a Newcastle hospital. However, on a comparative basis with England, he said Ireland did well out of lung transplants over the last two years.
