Una and Sean’s story: 37 years of gratitude and a new gift of life

For Una and Sean Brown, organ donation is a story of love, generosity and hope that stretches back almost four decades. Now they are preparing for a remarkable new chapter, with Una donating a kidney as part of a sharing scheme that will also enable Sean to receive a transplant.

On 8 October, the couple are due to undergo surgery as part of a three way kidney sharing scheme involving three donors and three recipients.

Una’s kidney will go to a 30 year old recipient in England. Sean will receive a kidney from another donor and a third donor will help a 21 year old recipient receive a transplant.

A gift that gave Sean 37 years

Sean was just eight years old when he received his first kidney transplant in 1989. His donor was a 39 year old man who had died suddenly. At a time of devastating loss, the man’s family chose to donate his organs, giving Sean the opportunity to grow up and live a full life.

Reflecting on that decision, Una said:

“At the worst possible time for that family, they made a decision that saved Sean’s life.

“We will always be incredibly grateful and blessed because of their generosity. Their decision gave Sean another 37 years of living a normal life.”

Following his childhood transplant, Sean became the face of an organ donation campaign encouraging people to sign up to the Organ Donor Register.

Sean and Una are longstanding members of NIKRF and Sean’s father, John Brown, is a former Chair of the charity. Their family’s connection to organ donation and the kidney community runs deep.

Giving hope to another family

Sean is now living with stage four kidney failure. Through the kidney sharing scheme, Una has the opportunity to help someone else while enabling Sean to receive a kidney from another donor.

The scheme allows people who wish to donate to a loved one, but are not a suitable match, to donate to another compatible recipient. Linked donations then enable their loved one to receive a suitable kidney.

For Una, the opportunity to give is particularly meaningful.

“You may never know the person whose life you save,” she said. “I will know very little about the person who receives my kidney, other than their age and the country they are from, and that is all I will ever know.

“But you don’t have to know someone to change their life. Someone did that for Sean 37 years ago, and now I have the opportunity to do it for someone else.”

The planned operations involve careful coordination across the UK. Una’s kidney will be transported to England for transplantation while Sean’s donor kidney will be flown into Belfast, ready for his transplant later that day.

A conversation that matters

Una, who works as European and International Relations Officer at Belfast City Council, shared the family’s story through the Council’s intranet to encourage others to talk about organ donation.

Her message is simple:

“It is so important to speak to your family about your wishes to donate should something ever happen to you.”

“Organ donation gave Sean 37 years of living a full life, and we are grateful for that every day.

“It is the true meaning of the ‘gift of life’.”

Everyone at NIKRF sends Una, Sean and all the donors and recipients involved our warmest wishes as they prepare for 8 October. We thank them for sharing their story and the donor family whose generosity gave Sean his first chance at life.

To find out more about living kidney donation, visit Organ Donation NI’s living kidney donation page.