TV’s MAITRE D’ JOHN HEALY TO SPEAK ABOUT RECENT HEART TRANSPLANT AT PUBIC MEETING
ON ORGAN DONATION
TV’s Maitre D’ John Healy will speak at a free public meeting on Tuesday (26th June)in Dublin on
organ donation in which he will talk about his recent heart transplant. The public meeting in the
Alexander Hotel in Dublin from 6pm to 7:30pm is being organised by the Forum on End of Life in
Ireland.
John was the maitre d’ on RTE’s TV show The Restaurant in which celebrity guests try to impress
resident restaurant critics. John suffered a heart attack in January 2007 and another in November
2009. He was living with heart failure following his second heart attack and was placed on the
transplant list in November 2010. He was on the waiting list for 16 months before he underwent his
five hour transplant operation three months ago in March.
At the public meeting, John will discuss transplantation from the perspective of recipient of an
organ. The other speakers at the public meeting on Tuesday will include:
•
Dr. Deirdre Madden: Senior Lecturer in Law in University College Cork
•
Dr. James O’Rourke: Intensive Care Unit Consultant, Beaumont Hospital
•
Dr. Colman O'Loughlin: Consultant Intensivist, Mater Hospital
•
Phyllis Cunningham: Senior Transplant Coordinator, Beaumont Hospital
John stated: “Without a transplant, I would not be here. It saved my life. I was quite unaware of
organ donation or transplantation before I needed one. I believe it is important that people have a
choice and that families should have these conversations about the views of their loved ones around
organ donation just in case something happens in the future. It is vital that we have a public
discussion on the many issues around organ donation.”
Last year, there were a record number of organ donations. There were 93 deceased organ donors
which allowed 248 organ transplants to be carried out. The organs transplanted included kidney,
liver, heart, lung and pancreas. There are about 650 Irish people on waiting lists for a transplant. As
part of the preparation of a Human Tissue Bill, The Department of Health and Children initiated a
public consultation on three possible systems of consent for organ donation in 2009. The
Programme for Government promised to legislate for an opt-out system of consent for organ
donation.
The Forum on End of Life in Ireland is an Irish Hospice Foundation initiative. During 2009 it engaged
with the public on end-of-life issues to find what people in Ireland believed about dying, death and
bereavement. The National Council of the Forum on End of Life in Ireland is now furthering the work
and vision of the Forum. The Council is chaired by Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness.
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For more information, please contact:
Caroline Lynch,
Head of Communications and Advocacy,
The Irish Hospice Foundation
Tel: 087-123 75 86 or caroline.lynch@hospice-foundation.ie