Very Successful Fundraiser – Thanks to Sean Lavery

Sean Lavery organised a fundraising night which took place on Valentine’s Night in the Seagoe Hotel in Portadown, attended by 360 people.

Eugene Lavery, Sharon Millen, Kay Duffy, Ciaran Lavery, Sean Lavery, Helena Thornton, Nicola Gregg, Emma Kerr and Christine Lavery

Compere on the night was ex St Paul’s Lurgan teacher, Jimmy Smyth who entertained the crowd throughout. Sean was rightfully delighted with the response from all concerned and really made his two months hard work worthwhile.

Sean said “separate draws on the night, a lucky dip, a grand draw and with money made on tickets came to a total of £9,462. Since Saturday night the total has risen again with a steady flow of donations still coming in bringing it over the £10,000 mark which is helped by my just giving page that is www.justgiving.com/Sean-Lavery.  It has over £700 pound on it. The generosity of people is amazing and I am still overwhelmed by it all”.

Sean and Helena Thornton

“The money that is raised will all be used to help people like myself during the hard times of liver transplant journey plus buy equipment that can only help people be diagnosed quicker, that will save a lot of lives.  By all of this I hope to raise awareness of the RVH Liver Support Group and the importance of the Organ Donor Register that for me saved my life and has given me a life with my family again that I nearly lost” Sean went on.

Sharon Millen and Kay Duffy were at the function representing the charity and they too were struck by amazement of the amount raised.

 

Jennifer Cairnduff, a committee member of the Liver Support Group received a cheque from the Communication Workers’ Union (Combined Branch) on 30th January 2015.  This was in memory of the late Shauneen Clarke, a former colleague, who passed away on 11th June 2014.  The money was raised from a Christmas collection.

2nd right: Bob Weatherall (Branch Secretary and National Officer of CWU); furthest right: Jennifer Cairnduff; members of Shauneen’s family, L-R: Karen Green, Ashleigh Green and Sean Clarke.

Larmour family presentation

On Wednesday 14th January, Violet Larmour and her friends Sharon Frazer and Councillor Frank McCoubrey handed over a cheque for £1,700 to Kay Duffy, founder to the RVH Liver Support Group.

The money had been raised from a new year’s ballot organised by John and Violet Larmour and their  family, with help from friends – not least Walter Graham who has worked steadily to raise funds for the group over the past three years.

Our sincere thanks to everyone involved.  And best wishes to Violet for continuing good health following her recent transplant.

The photo shows, from left to right – Donald Cairnduff (Chair RVHLSG), Fred (Staff member of 6D), Violet Larmour, Kay Duffy, Sharon Frazer and Councillor Frank McCoubrey.

The Nicks family from  Whitecross  present  a cheque to Kay Duffy founder of
the RVH Liver Support Group for £1460.96. This money raised was in lieu of
presents for Orla’s 40th birthday. Their daughter Erin had a liver
transplant five years ago

Kay Duffy receives the cheque on behalf of the support group

 Life saving family chat

Tell Your Loved Ones – this Thursday

Thursday 11^th December is Tell Your Loved One Day.  This day-long campaign has the backing of the First and Deputy First Ministers and simply involves as many people as possible across Northern Ireland sitting down and discussing openly with their families whether or not they wish to be organ donors.

84% of people in Northern Ireland support the idea of organ donation yet the latest statistics reveal that 38% of families refuse to give consent to the donation of their loved one’s organs when faced with this choice.

And without family consent donation will not happen, regardless of whether the deceased was on the register or not.

The most common reason for families withholding consent is because they had never been told that their loved one wished to be a donor.  If donation rates are to increase, talk about an individual’s willingness to donate must be more widespread and more open.

Please support Tell Your Loved One Day in your own homes.  And please encourage friends and wider family to have the same talk at some stage of the day.  Currently 15 people per year from Northern Ireland die on the waiting list.  Open dialogue will lead to more awareness of the life saving power of donation – one deceased person can save many lives – and greater awareness will lead to fewer people dying.

This Thursday:

• sit down,
• speak up,
• share your decisions,
• save lives.

RAISING AWARENESS OF LIVER TRANSPLANTATION – at the heart of Government

The All Party Group on Organ Donation at Stormont is a small body of  MLAs meeing roughly four times a year so that they can stay informed on all aspects of organ donation as it affects people in  Northern Ireland.

It is chaired by Mrs. Jo-Anne Dobson (MLA UUP).  Mrs. Dobson has a keen personal interest in the issue as her son is a kidney recipient.  She is currently drafting a Private Members’ Bill to change the law in Northern Ireland to a ‘soft’ opt-out system.

When the Group met on Monday 24th November, the focus was on liver donation.   Presentations were made by myself, as chair of the RVH Liver Support Group, by consultant Dr. Neil McDougall and by Gareth Hunter – three times a liver recipient within 6 weeks last summer.

I spoke of my experience  as a carer for over 10 years, of the contact the charity has with patients who have to travel to England for surgery and with their loved ones and of the overwhelming support for an opt-out system from our survey of members in 2011.

Dr. McDougall outlined the work done in the RVH to prepare patients for transplant surgery and to aid their recovery.  He spoke of roughly 18 transplants per year for Northern Ireland patients and cited 230 recipients currently alive and well.  Outcomes were very encouraging, with one the one year survival rate standing at 91% and the five year rate standing at 80%.  Northern Ireland was also one of the top regions in the U.K. for liver donations; we probably gave more than we received.  The challenges were growing demand, a lack of suitable organs and how to cope with clinics getting very full as a result of increasingly successful referrals.

Gareth then talked about his long struggle with PSC that culminated in 2 unsuccessful transplants and one finally successful transplant in the summer of 2014.  His story was accompanied by slides, ranging from a picture of him playing golf as a 7 year old to one of him breaking his post-transplant fast with a well-earned yoghurt.  It was told with humour, as when he deplored how the timing of his surgery had prevented him watching the Open Golf Championship at Hoylake; with searing honesty, as when he outlined the impact on his life of encephalopathy; and never at any stage with even a shred of self-pity – in fact he stressed that some people he met in King’s had endured a far rougher time than he had.  The end of his presentation was received with a sincere and spontaneous round of applause.

It was a very worthwhile and satisfying morning.  Thanks to Mrs. Dobson for choosing liver donation as the theme for this meeting and for allowing the three of us to speak.

Donald Cairnduff

Gareth Hunter and Donald Cairnduff withJoanne Dobson MLA and Dr Neil McDougall

Seated (l-r): Donald Cairnduff; Dr. Neil McDougall; Gareth Hunter
Standing (l-r): Tom Elliott (UUP); Pat Ramsey (SDLP); Jo-Anne Dobson (UUP); Sammy Douglas (DUP); Bernadette Maginnis (British Medical Association NI); Jayne Murray (British Heart Foundation NI); John Brown (NI Kidney Research)

Every year the RVH Liver Support Group helps the Northern Ireland Transplant Association promote the Organ Donor Register at University Freshers’ Fairs.

This year was no exception.  Committee members Jennifer and Donald Cairnduff helped man the NITA stall at the University of Ulster at Jordanstown on Thursday 25^th October.  During the day a steady stream of students joined the register, some went away to consider it and others spoke openly and honestly about their reasons for not wanting to join the register.

Pictured  are several people who have just signed on to  the register – three UUJ students (l-r Amy O’Connor; Niamh McShane; Emma Fallon) and Ciara Lavery.  Ciara is keenly aware of how organ donation can be a gift of new and transformed life; her cousin Sean Lavery is recovering well from a liver transplant received earlier this year and planning major fundraising for the RVH Liver Support Group in February 2015.

Jennifer was attending her first Freshers’ Fair.  Afterwards she summed up her impressions of the day: ‘The students were very open to talking to us.  It was very encouraging to hear that many had already signed on when applying for a driving licence and discussed their wishes with their families.  It was also good to have a ready supply of ‘freebies’ to help lure students to our stand!’

A tiring but very rewarding day.                                                                                                                                              ;

Fantastic fundraiser in Roadhouse Bar in memory of Anna Sheerin

Cheque presentation. L to R Rita Carney, Vinny, Tommy Sheerin, Arlene McManus and Kay Duffy

Tommy Sheerin and his band of volunteer helpers raised the massive toatal of £3100 at a function in the Roadhose Bar on 30 August in memory of Anna Sheerin. It was very well organised and even the organisers themselves were overwhelmed by the generous response from the local community who supported them so well.

The cheque was handed over on Saturday 6 September to Kay Duffy from our group. Tommy Shherin was so complimentary of the support he received from our group and Kay in particular. The photo shows the cheque presentation.

 

Sheerin family raise funds in memory of Anna

Seamus Cunningham with, from left, Danny Sheerin, Tommy Sheerin, Louise Sheerin and Amy Green.

There was a fantastic fundraiser for our group in the Road House bar in Enniskillen on Saturday 30 August in memory of Anna Sheerin. The event was organised by the Sheerin family and their friends in the local area. It was particularly well attended and soon there will be a presentation of the proceeds featured on this site. I had the pleasure of calling with the group before proceedings really got going and spoke to family members and Arlene McManus who was one of the dynamic and enthusiastic organisers.