By Lesley Walsh
A BANGOR woman who gave her big sister a second chance at life is among a trio of local organ donors and recipients heading off to Germany to take part in the World Transplant Games.
Jenny Keery donated a kidney to her sister Karen after her kidney function dropped to just seven per cent when she was a teenager after developing kidney failure.
The pair will be joined by kidney recipient, Kathryn Glover, from Ballygowan, with the trio preparing to compete against participants from all over the globe in a range of athletic sports.
The Games, which have been running for almost 50 years, promote organ donation and encouraging more people across the world to register as potential donors.
Jenny is one of a small number of donors taking part in the Games, following the ‘evolution’ of the increasing numbers of living donors who are being offered a greater variety of sports to compete in.
Jenny (44) didn’t think twice about offering a kidney to her big sister Karen when she developed kidney failure when she was just 16, which was initially managed by medication.
By the age of 18, Karen was so ill, with her kidney function dropping to just seven per cent, that discussions began with doctors about the prospect of dialysis.
“I said let’s see if I could give her one of my kidneys,” she said, and inquired about getting tested to check if she was a potential match.
After a full day’s testing it turned out she was, but the unique make-up of her kidneys meant a specialist doctor had to fly over from Birmingham and undergo extra training before the transplant surgery could go ahead.
Jenny said the sacrifice has had no negative impact on her life and said it has actually benefitted her by keeping her fit and trim, having annual tests which include weigh-ins.
Karen said receiving her sister’s kidney gave her ‘the gift of life, as they say’ when she was so ill she was ‘fit for nothing’.
The 46 year-old mother of one son said ‘you can’t really put into words’ how her younger sister’s sacrifice gave her a second chance.
“I’m forever grateful and it’s really brought us closer together, and even though we were close before we used to fight the bit out when we were younger,” she quipped.
“This will be our second World Transplant Games together and I’m luckier than most because I get to bring my donor with me.”
Karen wanted to express her heartfelt gratitude to the transplant staff at Belfast City Hospital who she said ‘are world class’ in the treatment she received throughout her transplant journey.
The sisters also wanted to express their gratitude to Ards and North Down Council’s gift of Gold Cards which gave them free use of the borough’s leisure facilities, which was very beneficial during the last year of their training preparations.
Donation promotion manager with the Public Health Agency Organ, Catherine McKeown, said the Games help to demonstrate the benefits of transplantation whilst increasing public awareness of the need for more people to join the NHS Organ Donation Register and discuss their organ donation decision with their families.
“These inspirational athletes, both transplant recipients and living donors, are a testament to the gift of life given through organ donation.”
She said the Northern Ireland team is coordinated by Transplant Sport Northern Ireland (TSNI), a charity which encourages sports in the rehabilitation of transplant patients.
