"I carry their spirit with me" - Wexford mum living life "in honour" of organ donor

In 2024, 263 organ transplants were carried out in Ireland, thanks to the generosity of 84 deceased donors and 30 living kidney donors. Avril Whitty, 38, is from Clearinstown in Wexford. She is married to Justin and they have two children. Avril underwent a liver transplant at St. Vincent’s University Hospital in the summer of 2023.

Here for Organ Donor Awareness week, Avril shares her story...

It's hard to put into words what it feels like to be given a second chance at life, but I want to try, because this isn’t just my story.

It’s a story of family, love, endurance, and the life-changing power of organ donation. I had a liver transplant almost two years ago. 14 years ago, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune liver disease, just after getting married to my college sweetheart.

 For 11 years, the condition was well managed under the watchful eye of Dr Courtney in St. Luke’s. I always tried to make the most of life and doing all the things a 20 something does, saving for a house, thriving in work, expanding our family and spending time with family and friends, however silently suffered with symptoms like jaundice, chronic fatigue and infections which took me longer to recover from and multiple procedures.

However, two and a half years ago it became clear that things had changed and the outlook wasn’t as hopeful, with more hospital visits and more symptoms daily.

I was referred to be assessed for a transplant — a process that came with an overwhelming mix of emotions. Fear. Uncertainty. And the quiet hope that I might be one of the lucky ones.

In May, I was officially listed for a transplant. That day marked the beginning of a new chapter — not just for me, but for my husband Justin, who walked beside me through every single moment of sickness, anxiety, and exhaustion. I could not have made it through without his unwavering support.

He carried so much of the weight when I couldn’t and stood strong when I needed someone to lean on. Our daughters, Alicia and Cora, were 17 and eight at the time. Watching your children grow while wondering if you’ll be around to see the next year of their lives — that’s a pain I wouldn’t wish on anyone. But they gave me strength. They gave me my reason.

Alicia, wise beyond her years, kept me grounded and calm. And Cora, with her innocence, energy and joy, reminded me every day that there was still so much life to fight for.

Over the weeks that followed, I got worse, hospital admissions every two weeks and was told I was one bad infection away from not making it.

 Then, just two months after being listed, the call came. A donor had been found. In the midst of someone else’s heartbreak, they made the selfless decision to give the ultimate gift — the gift of life. That moment changed everything. It gave me back my future. It gave me more days with my family. It gave me hope.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about my donor and their family. I don’t know their name, but I carry their spirit with me every single day. I live my life now in honour of them — with more gratitude, more purpose, and more love. I am living now and not just surviving. Organ donation is not just a medical miracle. It is a deeply human act of compassion. It turns loss into legacy, and pain into possibility.

I am here because someone said “yes.” That “yes” saved my life. So today, I ask all of you: please consider becoming an organ donor. Talk to your families. Let your loved ones know your wishes. One decision can give someone like me — someone’s wife, someone’s mother, someone’s daughter— the chance to keep living, loving, and dreaming.

To the donor families, to the medical staff, surgical staff and consultants at St Vincent’s University Hospital: thank you. You make miracles happen. To my wider family, amazing friends, neighbours and work colleagues, your support through my recovery will never be forgotten.

And to Justin, Alicia, and Cora — thank you for holding me through my hardest days. This life we have now is the greatest gift of all.

To find out more about the campaign or to request an organ donor card, visit IKA.ie/donorweek.

* This article was originally published on Evoke.ie.