My guardian angel
Selfless Garda donates kidney to his fiancée as pre-wedding present after two previous operations cancelled
A GARDA has donated a kidney to his fiancée as a pre-wedding gift.
Garda Shane Hunter underwent the surgery for his fiancee, Briona Reynolds, who has now been freed from the dialysis treatment she had to undergo three times a week.
‘I honestly don’t think it has fully sunk in yet that Shane has donated his kidney to me, and I’ll never know how to fully thank him. I am so grateful that we can finally move ahead with our lives,’ said Briona as they recovered in their Offaly home.
The couple are sharing their good news to offer hope to the hundreds of other families with loved ones in organ failure on transplant waiting lists.
It had been a tough few months and Briona could have died.
By February of this year her kidney function had almost fully declined and she then had no option but to start haemodialysis treatment to keep her alive.
They were lucky that the kidney transplant programme has resumed at Beaumont Hospital after the coronavirus forced its suspension in March.
The shutdown led to a delay in Briona and Shane’s operations, scheduled to take place on March 23. This would be their second disappointment as a previous date for transplant, February 3, had also been cancelled because Shane’s blood results showed small irregularities that have since cleared.
Briona no longer has to undergo haemodialysis at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore and they have returned to their lives together in Tubber. They are now turning their attention to planning for their wedding in July 2021 at the nearby Mount Druid, and Shane will return to working at Tullamore Garda Station soon.
Briona, 28, met Shane in 2009 and discovered in 2015 that she had kidney disease.
Her mother, Gina Reynolds, was also found to be a suitable living donor but Shane was determined that he should be the one to proceed.
Just a week before the transplant operation took place, Briona completed her thesis for a master’s in education.
Fulfilling her dream to become a secondary school art teacher is now edging closer.
Speaking from their home 11 days post-surgery, Briona said her condition had got progressively worse and she had now been given a new life.
‘Since being diagnosed we watched as my kidney function decreased knowing there was nothing we could do other than trying to delay the inevitable.
‘But my kidney function continued to decline to a point where my treatment options were reduced to commencing hospital dialysis treatment or the hope of getting a kidney transplant. I was so grateful when both Shane and my mam went forward to be tested to be living donors.’
Shane said they were both doing well after a worrying few years. ‘For the last number of years I’ve seen Briona struggle with the complications of having kidney failure. So, when I was given the opportunity to get tested for kidney donation I was eager to help, but also nervous that I might not be a match.
‘Thankfully, here we are less than two weeks on from transplant and both of us are doing great and recovering well.
‘The successful transplant allows us to plan ahead and focus on what’s coming, like our wedding next year. Right now, we’re just looking forward to getting back to a stage where we can go back to work, go on holidays
‘I don’t think it has sunk in yet’ ‘It’s hard to top a kidney’
and just get back to normal living.’ Shane also joked: ‘Now my concern is what to get Briona for her birthday – it’s hard to top a kidney.’
Organ Donor Cards can be obtained from the Irish Kidney Association on 01 620 5306 or by free-texting the word DONOR to 50050. The public can also support the Irish Kidney Association and can free text KIDNEY to 50300 to donate €4.