News from Northern Ireland - Galway Hookers support for organ donation
As part of the Northern Ireland Transplant Forum's 9 challenges in support of organ donation, a group of people, including organ recipients, from Northern Ireland travelled to Connemara to take part in the annual Galway Hooker Regatta in Cill Chiaráin during the first weekend of July.
Speaking after the event, Ann Harrington from Bangor who is involved with the Northern Ireland Transplant Forum and has many links with Galway said: "It was a wonderful weekend, we were all made so welcome by the local people, and the event itself helped raise much needed awareness of the importance of organ donation".
To view a YouTube clip of this special event click on this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2gFc9gwLnY
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"Speak up and save a life", the title of a major new Organ Donation Campaign to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation, was announced earlier this year by the Northern Ireland Public Health Agency.
In the news release issued to announce this new campaign, it is stated that around 200 people in Northern Ireland are on the transplant waiting list and sadly around 15 people die each year waiting for an organ.
Despite support for organ donation being extremely high, just 31% of the population here are on the organ donor register.
To tackle this issue, the Public Health Agency (PHA) has launched its ‘Speak up and save a life’ organ donation campaign, which is aimed at raising awareness of the issue of organ donation in Northern Ireland.
Read more about this campaign on the Public Health Agency's webpage:
http://www.organdonationni.info/
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Details of this campaign were sent to us by Ann & Emer Harrington from Bangor in Northern Ireland who are very active in the organ donation community in the North.
Previous stories from the North:
Friday, 17th January is a day Neil Robinson, a young man from Armagh, will not forget. Having waited for a life saving transplant since he was six years old this was the day his life would change when he received the wonderful gift of a kidney from a living donor. He is recovering well after surgery and wishes to thank his donor and the team at Belfast City Hospital and all the people and groups who have so kindly kept him and his family in their prayers for many years.
In early September, Neil visited the Quincentennial Park in Salthill, Galway where construction work on Circle of Life National Organ Donor Commemorative Garden was about to commence. He is pictured here (centre) with Denis Goggin (left) from Strange Boat Donor Foundation and Fr. Michael Bailey from Salthill Parish. Neil is hoping to visit the garden shortly.
Forum/Discussion on Organ Donation at NUIG
On Friday, 31st January a forum/discussoin on organ donation/transplantion was held at the National University of Ireland college campus in Galway. This forum, organised by Ann Harrington, took place in conjunction with the national tree planting event the following day at the commemorative garden in Salthill.
Read more: news/1-latest-news/171-forum-discussoin-on-organ-donation-at-nuig.html
To read more about the tree planting event click on this link:
http://www.organdonation.ie/news/1-latest-news/170-tree-planting-event-at-commemorative-garden.html
