Life-saver Laurena donates kidney to nephew

Not only was she acutely aware of her nephew Michael’s long battle with kidney disease, one of the first people she met when she started with Galway City Council in 1985 was on dialysis.

“Michael was diagnosed when he was 15 and for the last two years he spent two days a week, for four to five hours, on a dialysis machine.

“One of the girls on my team also had a transplant in October so it always struck a chord with me.

“Most people are waiting for a deceased donation for four to five years whereas a living donation is much faster – usually six to nine months.”

Michael’s mother Bridget was initially the frontrunner to donate to the 30-year-old but at the final stage was ruled out when the extremely thorough medical assessment found plaque in her left kidney.

After realising she was the same blood type as her Waterford nephew, Laurena volunteered to undergo the battery of tests to ensure her kidney would be a perfect match.

She had the unswerving support of her husband Enda Maloney and her teenagers Ciara and Patrick in taking the leap.

“I never felt guilty about going forward. I never thought too much about the risks to be honest. The team in Beaumont go through all that with you. I always felt if I get through the process, and it’s a very thorough process, it’s meant to be.”

It took nine months to be approved by the multi-disciplinary transplant team in Beaumont Hospital and Lauren recalls phoning Michael to tell him the good news.

“He wasn’t sure he could go ahead with it. He didn’t want to put me at risk. He asked me to give him 24 hours to think about it and boy did I sweat for that whole time. I really wanted him to say yes. He agreed to it, saying if it’s meant to be it will be.”

This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of Laurena and Stephen's story, see this week's Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.