John is Honorary Chairman of Irish KidneyAssociation
BRAY MAN John Whelan has been appointed as National Honorary Chairman to the Irish Kidney Association.
John, who underwent a kidney transplant in 2008, has been a member of the Irish Kidney Association since 2006 when he and his wife Una joined the East Dublin and Wicklow branch following his diagnosis of end-stage renal failure and his commencement in 2006 of dialysis treatment. They became actively involved in the local branch and John was elected branch chairman in 2010, having been elected to the National Board in the previous year, after undergoing his deceased donor kidney transplant.
A native of Wexford, John has lived in Bray for the past 39 years.
He is a barrister and Senior Counsel by profession and, although now retired, still engages in the occasional practice of law. Over the past few years he served as legal adviser to the board of Self Help Africa and assisted in its merger with Gorta.
‘I am gratified and humbled to have been elected to lead the Irish Kidney Association over the next two years,’ said John.
‘I believe the association has a vital role to play in conjunction with the medical profession in promoting the overall welfare of those suffering from renal failure. My focus will be primarily the well-being of the patient, and my aim will be to help the Association to grow and to progress its essential work in the care and support of renal patients.
‘ The whole question of consent to organ donation has been a live issue over the past number of years and there have been varying viewpoints on how to promote and advance the level of donation. I believe that the key to progress in this regard is not through legislation but through developing the infrastructure and the training and placing of more organ donor coordinators in hospital intensive care units.