'Have the chat' about organ donation, pleads crash victim's brother

Aaron Cantwell was a lifeguard and swim teacher at Aura Leisure Centre in Navan. He donated his organs before he passed away after an accident outside Navan recently.

The only brother of a young man who died after a road accident has appealed to families to have 'the chat' about organ donation.

Adam Cantwell made the appeal after his 'hero' younger brother Aaron, 20, saved the lives of four people through donating his organs before he passed away after the accident outside Navan recently.

The 22-year-old from Trim said he didn't want to remember the date his brother died — the only important date was the day he was born, the day "my parents gave me a hero and little brother."

Adam appealed to everyone to 'have the chat' about organ donation. "He (Aaron) was and still is a hero. That's really the only word that I can use to describe him. He was extremely strong. He went through his hard times as everyone did through the teenage years with a smile on his face."

Adam told LMFM Radio of how he used to drive Aaron to work as a lifeguard and swim teacher at Aura Leisure Centre in Navan, where they both worked together.

"I had the pleasure of spending the most time with him because I got to drive him into work and back from work so a lot of my time was spent with him. I can't say a single day that I spent with him that I didn't laugh and enjoy.

"He was a hero at work as well. He was a lifeguard so he saved lives. He was a swim teacher which was definitely his pride and joy.

"He had so much enjoyment from helping the kids. He got on really well with the kids and he loved spending time teaching them and helping them and being there for them and making sure he helped them through any bit of fear that they had in terms of water.

Adam said that he remembered Aaron as young as 14 saying that he wanted to donate his organs.

"On more than one occasion when we were having dinner as a family, the chat came up. My parents would instigate it, obviously because they never thought they'd lose myself or Aaron before them but they thought to chat about if anything happened to them, that they'd want their organs donated so they could help others even in their passing.

"Aaron made it abundantly clear, even from 14 years old, his wishes to donate his organs if anything was to happen. In the end, the decision came down to my parents and if Aaron hadn't had the chat with us at the dinner table, we might not have known his wishes so this shouldn't be a taboo conversation.

"In the chats we had before, we would've thought it would be the recipient who got hope and comfort from receiving but for ourselves as a donor family, and speaking for myself, I've been given so much hope and comfort knowing that Aaron has saved lives.

"It's made this process easier and I want to say to any recipient family out there that I hold nothing but adoration and love that I had for Aaron towards their families.

"The only date and time I want remembered for my brother is exactly 7pm on 20th March, 2002. My parents gave me a hero and a little brother who will live on forever so I don't want any other date than that - because that's the day when my life changed.

"The message that we all want to send is to have the chat because Aaron's legacy lives on because of that."

A GoFundMe page has already raised over €6,000 that will go towards Organ Donor Awareness and donations.