Joe Brolly

[Sportacus]

What a massive disappointment.  Don't know how this.works now medically but I hope they both get back on their feet soon.  They give it a go -  fair play to them.

[Shamrock Shore]

That is just awful news. God bless both

[Declan]

Sad news indeed

[Croí na hÉireann]

Ah shite.

[Ard-Rí]

f**k it. That's rough luck.

[armaghniac]

Sad that it didn't achieve its effect.

[dundrumite]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2231239/My-kidney-op-devastating-truth.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

[catchandkick]

Very interesting (and sad unfortunately) article.

Brolly is an extremely bright guy and a unique individual.

Massive kudos to him for his efforts here.

[ONeill]

Jaysus that's awful unfortunate.

[orangeman]

All-Ireland-winning footballer and RTÉ analyst Joe Brolly has spoken of the devastation he suffered on hearing his kidney donation to a friend had failed.

The 43-year-old barrister from Derry told RTÉ News at One it was an agonising time but he "would do it all again tomorrow if he could".

The organ that was transplanted to Shane Finnegan last month stopped working when complications were discovered nine days after the major operation.

Brolly said Shane's wife called in the middle of the night to tell him the operation had failed. He said despite claims Shane's body had rejected the organ, the kidney was in fact starved of oxygen because of a blood clot.

"There was obviously deep disappointment," he said. "The kidney that had been working perfectly had to be taken out. There was no rejection as we understand it. It was all the more agonising for that.

Brolly said he "would be trying to get on", adding that he has started back running and hoped to return to work next month.

"I would do it all again tomorrow if I could" - Joe Brolly"But for Shane it's different" he said. "Because the stakes are very high, it wasn't really the sort of game you could afford to lose. For Shane, it was obviously was a hammer blow.

"The clock is ticking and he needs a kidney from a live donor urgently. He is very weak, he has lost a few stone and is very frail but mentally he is very strong."

Brolly insisted people should not be afraid of being a living donor.

"The scientific community isn't sure why we have two kidneys," he added. "You only need one kidney. Once you are healthy, you can be a living donor.

"If someone were interested, they can easily contact me, north or south. If someone put their hands up, the process is excellent, you know it's something well worth doing. I would do it all again tomorrow if I could."

He said it's been a great lesson for his children and the wider community, including St. Bridget's GAA club, where both he and Shane coached at under-age level.

During his time in hospital he said: "You could see lives being saved everyday".

There are currently 600 people in the Republic waiting for a kidney transplant, 200 in Northern Ireland - including Shane Finnegan.

Brolly added: "Between eight and 10 percent of those will die without getting a kidney and it's an awful waste, because if people filled out a donor card, it would make a massive, massive difference to other people's lives."

[heganboy]

some people seem to miss the point with Brolly.
I know him - not well enough to shitetalk about him and name drop like every columnist was doing at the start of the week in the irish news - from heany, tierney and even in the bsuiness section with mcerlane

mecerlean and Brolly are the oldest of friends, they grew up together both boarding at St Pats Armagh for 7 years, and in addition played on the same Irish underage basketball teams. Thats not name dropping, thats a shout out to one of your best mates.

[5 Sams]

Astonishing interview with Joe on Marion Finucane this morning. I'll stick up a link when it's available.

[armaghniac]

Astonishing interview with Joe on Marion Finucane this morning.

Reluctant as I am to agree with a Down man, I couldn't agree more.

here's the link

[catchandkick]

Astonishing interview with Joe on Marion Finucane this morning. I'll stick up a link when it's available.

Is it along the lines of the Daily Mail article? Parts of that were very deep.

[supersarsfields]

Great to hear that there may be a couple of other donors coming forward.  The GAA can really be a remarkable organisation at times. 

Fresh hope in search for kidney donor says Brolly

ALL-Ireland winner Joe Brolly has revealed that three more live donors - including two GAA figures - are lining up to help Shane Finnegan, who needs a kidney transplant.

The former Derry GAA All-Star, now a pundit, donated one of his kidneys to his friend and clubmate Mr Finnegan at the start of last month.

But less than two weeks later, doctors confirmed that the transplant had failed due to a rare blood clot.

Mr Brolly has now revealed that two figures in the GAA are undergoing tests in a Belfast hospital to help save the life of Mr Finnegan.

Another person has also come forward to help the stricken father-of-three find a suitable match.

Mr Finnegan, a PR executive who coaches under-10s GAA with Mr Brolly, is now back on dialysis and desperately needs a kidney.

Mr Brolly said he was very concerned for his friend's future health, adding that he was now helping in the search for a new living donor.

"What's next is that he needs a volunteer. He needs a donor," Mr Brolly told RTE radio.

"Without betraying any confidence, two people have already gone in to be tested in Belfast. Another person is coming to see me next week.

"Two of them are from very, very strong GAA backgrounds and obviously the GAA community has been superb.

"He needs a donor - a living donor. A deceased donor is no good for him. I was just in that miserable one per cent with Shane."

Mr Brolly, a father-of-five who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship with Derry in 1993, had made the decision to donate a kidney to Mr Finnegan after having known him only for a short time.

Before the transplant, Mr Finnegan (40) was having dialysis three nights a week for the past six years after suffering kidney failure. He had not told his children of his health problems.

It was the third transplant the father-of-three had undergone, with one having failed after 12 years.

Mr Brolly said he found out that the transplant had failed in a phone call from his friend's "distraught" wife, Catherine Finnegan.

"It was such a miserable finale to something that has been so exultant. I mean obviously it's a miserable situation for me but for Shane's family and for Shane, this was it," he said.

"Everything had been so good and the experts were agreed that this was the best possible situation for them in advance.

"Everything had gone so well for the physical transplant and then for such a small thing to destroy it all was very agonising.