Former county footballer says every household should talk about organ donation

When recently-retired Westmeath footballer John Egan was diagnosed with kidney disease in his teens he never imagined that it would result in end-stage kidney failure which leaves him with a kidney function of around 9% at the moment.

Having been diagnosed with IGA Nephropathy as a teenager and told there was no cure, John knew he would suffer long-term kidney damage and, in the end, kidney failure. However, thanks to the sterling work of his medical team at the time his kidney function began to eventually plateau and by the time he started college he says kidney disease was never in his thoughts at all.

“Even though I knew I had kidney issues and they didn’t function correctly, I never realised that it would end in kidney failure, dialysis and transplant,” he said.

Fast forward 15 years, and the Athlone native (30) is adamant that organ donation is something “every household should talk about” as he awaits a decision from his medical team next month to be placed on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.

John attended Tallaght Hospital last week to begin the process of dialysis, and is hoping to commence a form of home dialysis which will necessitate him having surgery to implant a catheter into his stomach.

It’s all a far cry from the days when he played football with his native Westmeath at Under 16, Minor and U21 level, before progressing to the senior team. He also completed two stints in the United States on the J1 Visa programme and graduated from college, with no health worries whatsoever.

However, it was when he completed a pre-season medical with Westmeath GAA in 2018 that John Egan’s kidney disease from his teenage years began to surface again. Blood tests were taken as part of the medical and it showed that his kidney function had dropped to below 30%. Nevertheless, he decided to keep playing football, but found that he suffered from ‘jelly legs,’ fatigue and cramping on a regular basis.

After suffering a bad knee injury towards the end of the 2018 season, he decided to retire from inter-county football at the age of 28, and became part of the Athlone GAA senior football management panel, as well as helping out with the Westmeath u15s in 2019.

At the same time, John was referred to a kidney specialist at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore, Dr. Eoin Bergin, and his kidney problems began to get worse over time.

He also bought a house with his fiancée, Traci, but this was a very difficult time for the couple as they had a number of issues in relation to life cover due to John’s kidney disease diagnosis. “We were not aware that my health issues would have such an impact on mortgage approval as it had never been mentioned to me by medical or financial advisors,” he says.

Last week, John Egan attended at Tallaght Hospital to begin the process of dialysis and he is hopeful of a place on the kidney transplant waiting list next month.

At the moment he is at end-stage kidney failure and suffers from various symptoms of the disease such as cramping, swelling, fatigue, gout and a general feeling of being unwell.

John and Traci were due to be married last December but postponed their wedding for a year due to Covid. He says it would be “a wonderful outcome” if he were to receive a successful kidney transplant and be fully recovered from his surgery in time for his wedding day in December of this year.

“The most difficult part of everything, aside from the symptoms of general unwellness, and the diet and fluid restrictions, is the unknown and the inability to plan the short to mid-term future in terms of marriage, kids, travel etc.” says the Athlone man.

John Egan is very grateful for the kindness, love and support he has received throughout his illness from his employers, Solas IT in Dublin, where he has worked as a Senior IT Recruitment Consultant for the past seven years, and from his family, friends, medical team and the GAA community. “Without the support of my fiancée Traci, my mam and dad, sisters Niamh and Dee, and all my friends this process would have been very difficult” he says.

John Egan says he was prepared to share his story as part of the Irish Kidney Association’s Organ Donor Awareness Week in the hopes that it would “spread the word about the importance of organ donation in Ireland.”

Organ donation is something “every household should talk about” he says, and he is encouraging everyone to “sign up to be a donor by getting a donor card, as it might save someone’s life.”