John Healy, maitre d’ on TV3’s The Restaurant, last night spoke about his recent heart transplant.
Mr Healy told a seminar on organ donating that first thing every morning he thought of the family who gave permission and the donor who had to lose his or her life so that he could have a transplant.
Mr Healy told the seminar, organised by the Forum on the End of Life and chaired by RTÉ’s Valerie Cox that the transplant was a “humbling” experience.
The Forum on the End of Life is an Irish Hospice Foundation initiative.
Last night’s seminar also heard from Dr Colman O’Loughlin, a consultant at the Mater hospital, who worked on Mr Healy’s five-hour operation.
All speakers spoke of the need for a “conversation” with families in which potential donors made their wishes known.
