Fun run stresses importance of organ donor cards

JONATHAN CRAIG knows the importance of carrying an organ donor card.

Mr Craig, 27, was given a new lease of life in 2004 when he underwent a life-saving kidney transplant – thanks to an organ donor. Last weekend, he took part in the inaugural Run for a Life fun run.

The fun run, in which more than 100 people took part, was a call to action for people to carry an organ donor card, and to help raise funds for organ transplant units at Beaumont Hospital, St Vincent’s University Hospital and Mater Misericordiae hospital.

Mr Craig said his transplant utterly changed his life.

“Since my transplant I feel like a new person: I am fitter, have improved stamina and concentration,” he said.

“I am now engaged and I’m getting married next year. I cherish every day knowing how fragile life really is. It is truly wonderful to be given a second chance of life, if only others knew how one’s life can be changed through organ donation.”

Last year, 224 organ transplants took place in Irish hospitals, but the demand for organs still greatly outnumbers suitable donors available.

There are more than 600 people on the organ transplant waiting list.

Professor Peter Conlon, a leading consultant in renal transplantation at Beaumont, said the event was greatly welcomed by the medical community and urged people to consider carrying a card.

“We hope people around the country are inspired by this event to think about organ donation, speak to their family about it and consider carrying a donor card,” he said.

Mark Murphy of the Irish Kidney Association said the Run for a Life was set to become an annual affair

“It is important to continue to remind people of organ donation as we are constantly faced with the issue of demand versus supply,” he said.

Those interested in applying for an organ donor card FREETEXT the word DONOR to 50050. To learn more about organ donation, contact the Irish Kidney Association on 01 6205306 or e-mail [e-mail].