Triple transplant survivor urges organ donation amid falling rates

Robert Sheahan, a 36‑year‑old from Askeaton, County Limerick, has called for more people to become organ donors after Ireland’s transplant numbers fell sharply.

Sheahan survived a historic triple transplant – double‑lung and liver – performed in June 2019 by surgeons from Dublin’s Mater Hospital and St Vincent’s University Hospital. The operation was the first of its kind in Ireland and gave him a second chance after being given only six weeks to live in his 20s.

He highlighted the decline in organ donations, noting that 202 transplants were carried out in 2025, down from 263 in 2024, 265 in 2023, 250 in 2022 and 190 during the Covid‑19 pandemic.

Sheahan, who works as a clerical officer for Limerick City and County Council, explained that his cystic fibrosis had affected multiple organs and he also developed type 1 diabetes. After a collapsed lung and severe weight loss, he began power‑lifting at a local gym, which helped him reach the fitness level required for surgery.

He thanked Prof Lars Nolke and Prof Karen Redmond at the Mater for the lung transplants and Prof Emir Hoti at St Vincent’s for the liver transplant, saying the ten‑hour operation exceeded expectations.

Sheahan now uses his story to stress the “real need” for organ donors, warning that fewer donations are limiting life‑saving transplant surgeries.

Source: Limerick Post. Photo: Julia M Cameron / Pexels.