WATCH: Canadian dialysis patient reaches out to local relatives for donor

(Above) Shelagh Brennan.

An Irish-Canadian pensioner who needs a life saving kidney transplant has reached out to her many Westmeath relatives in a bid to find a donor.

Shelagh Brennan, whose late father Terence Brennan was a native of Tyrrellspass, told the Westmeath Examiner last week that she has a large number of relatives in Tyrrellspass and the greater Mullingar area, many of whom she met in 2019 when she visited Ireland with her brother after the death of her father; a visit she describes as one of the happiest in her life.

Speaking from her home in Langley, British Columbia, retired nurse Shelagh explained that her brother, who is her only sibling, is not a suitable donor match, while doctors refused to let her 98-year-old “spitfire” mother Joan donate her organ – much to Joan’s annoyance!

Earlier this year, Shelagh’s hopes were raised when a childhood friend offered to donate one of her kidneys. The initial tests went well and doctors were confident that Shelagh would soon receive the transplant the she so urgently needs. However, late last month they informed Shelagh that they would not proceeding due to a number of issues.

Although she is on the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney transplant, she has no idea how long she would have to wait. Normally a private person, after her latest setback, Shelagh decided to reach out to her Irish relatives in a bid to find a donor.

Last week, Shelagh posted this message to the Mullingar News and Views Facebook page: “My name is Shelagh Brennan. I live in Langley, BC, Canada (near Vancouver). My father, Terence Brennan, is from Tyrrellspass. We have numerous relatives remaining in the Tyrrellspass, Mullingar, and surrounding area. None do not have the Brennan name though.

“I am a Registered Nurse and I am in kidney failure. I am looking for a kidney transplant and wonder if there is some relative or non-relative that is a match. I am blood type 0 (positive and negative are not an issue).

“I really need a transplant. Presently I am doing hemo-dialysis at home with help from a student nurse and my husband.

“Please consider donation. You can save my life and you can live a normal life with one kidney.”

Shelagh led an active life prior to falling ill and marked her 65th birthday by going sky diving. Currently being cared at her home for by her husband Bryan Frazer with the aid of a student nurse, she says that she hopes that some of her local relatives read her story and hopefully consider giving her the gift of life.

The time she and her brother spent in Westmeath in September 2019, a few months before she fell seriously ill, were some of the happiest days of her life. If she is fortunate to find a donor, she says that one of the first trips she wants to take when she is strong enough to do so is to return to her father’s home county.

“Four years ago my father passed away. He was almost 90 and it was a good death. When he died, I looked at my brother over my father’s dead body and said, ‘Kevin, we need to go to Ireland to honour dad, you and I.’

“I couldn’t find any relatives because no one had the Brennan name, but one person my dad was best friend’s with across the road was Peter Daly. I found Peter Daly junior, because senior has passed on. Peter junior is about my age and he took me under his wing.

“We ended up going to Ireland and meeting some relatives. They organised a party for us in a pub in Tyrrellspass. They had music and it was wonderful. We got to meet maybe 50 relatives. It was a wonderful, wonderful, trip.”

Watch: Shelagh explains how having a transplant would change her life.

Anyone interested in becoming a donor for Shelagh should contact the kidney transplant nurse at Vancouver General Hospital (BC, Canada) 604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5185 or kidneydonornurse@vch.ca for information, and give Shelagh’s name.

In Canada, donors are eligible for expenses that they may incur during the donation process. Some of these reimbursable expenses include: loss of income, testing, travel, accommodation and meals.