Liam Martin received a kidney donation in 2016
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Irish livestock producers who received a second chance at life are encouraging others to become organ donors.
Liam Martin, a Simmental farmer from County Tipperary, donated a heifer to the Irish Kidney Association during the National Ploughing Championships to raise money for the charity and awareness about organ donation.
Martin helped distribute more than 2,000 organ donation cards during the three-day event in mid-September.
Martin received a kidney donation from his son Darren in 2015. At the time, Liam suffered from kidney failure and Darren prepared to attend university in Austria.
Liam’s decision to share his story with event attendees helped them learn about the importance of organ donation, said Mark Murphy, CEO of the Irish Kidney Association.
“This gives hope to the 600 or more people on transplant waiting lists and their families and demonstrates, once again, how powerful individual stories shared by people who have been touched by organ failure and organ donation can capture the public’s empathy,” he said Sept. 29, AgriLand reported.
Martin wasn’t the only farmer donating to the charity to raise awareness for organ donation.
Larry Dunican, who raises Friesian cows and is a fellow kidney recipient, donated a heifer to the kidney charity.
And Paul Palmer, a tractor enthusiast, displayed his vintage 1955 Ferguson 20 tractor while handing out organ donation cards.
Palmer drove the tractor 930 miles (1.496 km) around Ireland in the summer to support the Irish Kidney Association while one of his relatives awaited a kidney transplant.
Irish organ donors provided 190 kidneys to people in need in 2017, The Irish Times reported.
Anyone interested in becoming an organ donor in Ireland can sign up for a card.
Liam Martin/The Nenaagh Guardian photo