A Dublin doctor who bravely donated his kidney to a stranger had to travel to Belfast to have his operation.
Kind-hearted Dr Dominic Natin lives near Beaumont Hospital where the national kidney transplant programme is based - but was not able to have surgery there due to protocol.
In the Republic of Ireland, kidneys can only be harvested from living family members or close friends or the deceased due to a lack of legislation.
Dr Natin's kind act is classed as "non-directed altruistic living kidney donation", a process not allowed in this State, The Medical Independent reports.
The brave medic, who works as a consultant in occupational medicine at The Mater Hospital, explained how he decided to donate a kidney after he read an article about the need for more donors.
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Dr Natin who said he always wanted to help others "from an early age" is already a blood donor and had joined the Irish Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry.
After researching the process, he learned that in order to donate a kidney, he would have to travel to the UK or Northern Ireland.
After having an assessment, he was told a patient living in Belfast was a perfect match for his kidney and he decided to go ahead with the surgery.
He completed a day's work at The Mater, finishing at 6pm, before taking a train to Belfast for an operation the following day.
And Dr Natin said he felt "absolutely fine" following the procedure.
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He said: "I was told the good news that the recipient had got the kidney, it was working well and the medical teams were very happy."
He was allowed to go home that day but stayed in hospital one more night on the advice of his wife.
Donors are advised to take four to 12 weeks' leave from work and Dr Natin took four weeks off.
The patient who received the kidney has since written to thank him for his generosity and Dr Natin describes them as "very lovely and gracious".
He hopes by sharing his story, it will highlight the difficulties around organ donation in Ireland.
