There were emotional scenes at Dublin Airport on Saturday as 38 members of Transplant Team Ireland returned home with 50 medals from this year’s World Transplant Games in Newcastle, Gateshead, UK.
The haul included 17 gold, 18 silver and 15 bronze medals, earning Ireland a respectable 11th place on the leaderboard out of 56 countries.
John Moran, a kidney transplant recipient from Glasnevin, and Deirdre Faul, a liver transplant recipient from Dalkey, were the most decorated athletes winning an impressive five medals each, including three gold and two silver.
Another standout at Terminal 1’s arrivals hall was Navan’s Jack O’Brien, who at 16 was the youngest member on the team, bagging three medals - a silver in darts, and bronzes in the long jump and the 200m sprint.
He was accompanied by his mother Cassandra, who gave Jack one her kidneys when he was born in November 2002 with kidney failure.
She told the Sunday Mirror: “He spent two years on dialysis before I was able to donate one of my kidneys to him in February 2005.”
At the time of the transplant, Cassandra, then aged 20, became the youngest live donor to the youngest recipient in the country.
“Jack wouldn’t be here today without organ donation,” Cassandra added. “We are so lucky that it has turned out so well.”
Jack said: “I had the best craic, it was amazing to go and meet people my own age who have also gone through the same thing as me.”
For organ donor cards freetext DONOR to 50050 or visit website www.ikw.ie/get-a-donor-card
