Organ Donation Education Day at Mater

The 2018 Organ Donation Education Day for hospitals in the Ireland East Group, Dublin/Midlands, the RCSI and Dublin North East Hospital Group was held on October 4th at the Mater Hospital. 

This event was organised by the Organ Donation Specialist Nurse Managers in the Eastern area and was attended by over 80 nursing staff from Intensive Care Units and some nurses from A & E of these hospitals. One of the aims of the day's seminar was to give the nursing staff the opportunity of hearing first hand experiences and the human side of organ donation, both from a recipient and donor family's perspective.  

Dr. Alan Gaffney, Consultant Intensivist & Anaesthetist at Beaumont Hospital addressed the group as did Paddy O'Mahony who told his story from waiting for a transplant to receiving the gift of a new lung and his changed life since the transplant.  Martina Goggin spoke about the importance of organ donation to donor families and of her own personal experience while spending five days in the Intensive Care Unit of University College Hospital Galway in 2006 when her son, Éamonn, was on life support.  Martina also spoke about the Circle of Life National Organ Donor Commemorative Garden, and how it has become a very special place for the organ donation community, particularly donor families.         

Organ Donation Specialist Nurse Managers, Karen Healy, Bernie Nohilly, Leanne Sheridan, Nicola Phillips with Martina Goggin (Centre)

Nurses from the Intensive Care Units attending the education day event at the Mater Hospital in 2017

Karen Healy, Deirdre Coffey, Martina Goggin and Bernie Nohilly at the 2017 event