Kidney Charity Race jockeys visit dialysis patients
Lucia Barnes, artist; Rob Fox, Vartry Renal Dialysis Unit manager; Kate O’Leary, jockey; Alice Murphy, jockey; Serena, dialysis patient; Professor Peter Lavin, consultant nephrologist; Cormac McEvoy, jockey; Alison Baker, arts therapy manager at Tallaght Hospital; and James Nolan, PKR
PUNCHESTOWN Charity Race organiser James Nolan from Kilcullen has urged people to speak with their families about their wishes on organ donation, saying it is vital that loved ones know what to do should in the event of something happening to them.
“It is so much easier if your family knows what your wishes are regarding organ donation, should anything happen to you,” he said, emphasising that the central message behind the Punchestown Kidney Research Fund (PKRF) race is captured in its title: “Have the conversation – say YES to Organ Donation.”
He was speaking following the PKRF annual visit to the Varty Renal Unit at Tallaght University Hospital, participants in the upcoming race — the 35th — on Saturday 2 May, during the famous Kildare racing Festival.
Four of this year’s race jockeys – Alice Murphy, Kate O’Leary, Lydia Dodds and Cormac McEvoy – took part in the visit, where they saw firsthand the challenges faced by kidney patients undergoing dialysis. Other Kilcullen people with James and Emma Nolan, included Sandra Wixtead, Owen Farrell and Nicky Egan.
“All the visitors were simply blown away with the trip to the Dialysis Unit,” James Nolan said. “It gave them a great understanding of the hardship and the challenges that face kidney patients on a daily basis.”
He added that a common theme among those on dialysis was their desire to receive a life-saving kidney transplant, which would allow them to return to a normal life and free them from having to attend hospital three times a week for treatment.
To date, the PKRF Charity Race has raised over €2 million, funding a range of projects aimed at improving the quality of life for dialysis patients and maximising the lifespan of those fortunate enough to receive a kidney transplant.
James Nolan said that continuing to raise awareness about organ donation — and encouraging families to talk about it — remains at the heart of the race’s mission.
James is also the recipient of a donated kidney from his sister Catherine in 1987 and has devoted much of his spare time since promoting and encouraging organ donations. After founding the race, he took part in it 13 times, winning it in 2002.
