When Maggie Quinn’s sister Bernie made the selfless decision to donate a kidney to her, she wondered how she would ever repay her kindness. Fortunately, they’ve managed to work out a deal since then.
When Maggie Quinn’s sister Bernie made the selfless decision to donate a kidney to her, she wondered how she would ever repay her kindness.
Fortunately, they’ve managed to work out a deal since then.
“She says she has a free babysitter for life now for her son,” laughs Maggie, “so I’m booked in now most weekends!”
2017 saw a record 51 living donor kidney transplants take place at Beaumont Hospital – but behind every figure is a family like the Quinns.
With just two years between them, the sisters live next door in rural Kilsallaghan, close to the Meath/Dublin border, where Maggie works as a horticulturist, while Bernie is a town planner.
Horticulturist Maggie Quinn was on the kidney transplant list when her sister Bernie decided to donate her kidney last year. \ Philip Doyle.
Horticulturist Maggie Quinn was on the kidney transplant list when her sister Bernie decided to donate her kidney last year. \ Philip Doyle.
Maggie explains how her health problems date back to a case of strep throat when she was just six, but it was actually 20 years before she was actually diagnosed with glomerulonephritis (kidney disease) after ending up in A&E.
“The few days before that I would have been very breathless but I would have been working very hard. I think I would have been doing a herbaceous border,” she recalls.
"My legs started to swell and one evening I actually couldn’t stand."
Kidney function
Doctors discovered that Maggie had only 40% kidney function left and, while they tried to keep the inflammation at bay with strong doses of steroids as well as other medication, it gradually dwindled to 10% over the subsequent years.
Unsurprisingly, this not only impacted her ability to work, but also her quality of life
“Say you’re talking to people and you’d suddenly lose concentration or you’d find it hard to keep up with the conversation,” Maggie cites as one side-effect.
Or most mornings, you’d wake up with a terrible headache, and at least two, three days a week you’d have what seems like a vomiting bug.
"You’d wake up and say: ‘Ah, I’ll write off today’. Ten years ago, you might have been writing off one day a week… maybe a year ago, you could be writing off three days.”
Transplant list
While she was able to get by without dialysis, her consultant decided to put her on the transplant list in the hope of getting a suitable match from a deceased donor.
In the meantime, however, Bernie had been researching the possibility of coming forward as a living donor and decided to get tested to see if she was a possible match.
Horticulturist Maggie Quinn was on the kidney transplant list when her sister Bernie decided to donate her kidney last year. \ Philip Doyle.
Maggie Quinn.
“If it was meant to be, it would happen and if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t,” says Bernie, whose gesture was even more extraordinary considering she had only recently had a new baby, Tom, now two.
Indeed, Maggie admits she was initially reluctant to accept Bernie’s proposal, while her sister concurs that “she was more freaked out about it than I was”.
“She had a lot of fears around it for me,” says Bernie, “but at the same time, she wanted to get better.”
A match
After the initial tests in November 2016, Bernie was confirmed as a suitable match, though further investigations were also held to ensure that the condition was not genetic.
When it came to the operation, however, the wheels moved quickly when a slot became free on 11 July at Beaumont Hospital.
“In a way, it was good that we only had a few days’ notice. That was actually a blessing,” says Bernie, while Maggie admits that she was more concerned for her sister than for herself.
She didn’t seem to be nervous, but I was nervous for her.
Fortunately, everything went to plan, with Maggie seeing the benefits of the transplant soon after coming around.
Horticulturist Maggie Quinn was on the kidney transplant list when her sister Bernie decided to donate her kidney last year. \ Philip Doyle.
Horticulturist Maggie Quinn was on the kidney transplant list when her sister Bernie decided to donate her kidney last year. \ Philip Doyle.
“Just the clarity in my head. I didn’t feel nauseous or have an awful headache. It was immediate,” she says, though adds that her energy levels are still recovering.
For Maggie, the first two weeks post-surgery were challenging, but she credits the support of her family for helping to take care of Tom, as well as her employers in Louth County Council, who were so understanding.
“I went back to work again after 12 weeks and was just about right at that stage,” she says, adding that today, she has “never felt better”.
“I’m glad I did it and no regrets.”
Road to recovery
Looking forward, Maggie is hoping to return to work in the near future and is also planning a trip to the Chelsea Flower Show with Bernie.
At the moment, however, they are sharing their story to promote organ donor awareness week from 31 March- 7 April and support the Irish Kidney Association, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
And Maggie – who has availed of the facilities at the IKA Renal Support Centre at Beaumont Hospital, and also volunteered in their garden – would encourage anybody who wishes to be an organ donor to carry a card and also let their loved ones know of their wishes.
Organ donor cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association. Call 01-620-5306, free text the word DONOR to 50050 or visit www.ika.ie/card
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