17/10/2026
A lovely update from Una and Sean 💗
❤️ Last week, we shared the news that NIKRF members Sean and Una Brown were undergoing a kidney transplant. Today, we are sharing Una’s own words about their incredible journey and the life-changing gift of organ donation. We are delighted that both are now home recovering and send them our love and very best wishes. ❤️🙏
As some of you may know Sean was in stage 4 kidney failure and was in urgent need of a new kidney transplant.
Last Thursday, we became part of a three-way kidney sharing scheme, where I would donate to a compatible recipient, while another donor would provide a new kidney for Sean. A third donor was also involved, enabling another recipient to receive a life-changing transplant. However, as we all know, life can change in a second.
Just as I had been prepped and was ready to go to theatre, we were told that Sean’s donor had become unwell and could no longer donate. In that moment, I could see the panic on poor Sean’s face as his hopes for the future seemed to disappear before our eyes.
But I firmly believe that things happen for a reason. In what felt like a miracle, the donor linked to the recipient I was donating to just happened to be also a suitable match for Sean.
After an agonising 90-minute wait while the doctors sought approval to proceed, we finally received the news we had been praying for as also the recipient I was donating to was critically ill and in urgent need of a transplant. Approval was granted and it was all systems go. My kidney was flown to Scotland and likewise Sean’s new kidney was flown into Belfast and blue lighted to the Belfast City Hospital that afternoon.
This photograph was taken just before I went down to theatre. Neither of us knew when we would see each other again, but we both had complete faith in the incredible doctors and nurses who were caring for us. Thanks to their expertise, dedication and compassion, Sean was given the greatest gift of all, a third chance of life as he has his first transplant in 1989 as a child.
I will know very little about the person who receives my kidney, other than their age and the country they are from. But I believe in life you don't have to know someone to change their life. Someone did that for Sean 37 years ago, and it was a privilege to have the opportunity now for me to do it for someone else.
I think also it is important to say the sharing scheme helps reduce pressure on the deceased donor waiting list, creating more opportunities for people who do not have maybe a family member or friend who are able to donate
Sean and I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone for all their prayers, thoughts and care over the last week. We are so overwhelmed. Thankfully we are both now at home on our recovery journey. Thank you so much to our families, friends, work colleagues and our neighbours who have been a great help to us at home and each day we are getting stronger Finally a sincere thank you to his donor who we will be forever grateful to Sean’s ‘gift of life’ xx
