Woman saves life of stranger and husband at the same time

Hannah Magowan, a specialist transplant surgeon at Belfast City Hospital, said she performed Sean's transplant and assisted with Una's surgery under the Northern Ireland kidney sharing scheme, and that both patients are now recovering well.

Magowan explained that the sharing scheme has been operating in Northern Ireland since 2010 and has enabled almost 200 people in the region to receive a living‑donor transplant. In the 2025/26 financial year, 20 of the 69 living‑donor kidney transplants were carried out through the scheme, representing almost three in ten. She added that despite Northern Ireland accounting for about 3 % of the UK population, it has become the biggest subscriber and contributor to the programme, and Belfast is often described as the “capital” of kidney sharing because of the high number of patients and donors involved.

Magowan said living‑donor transplants can allow patients to avoid dialysis, as was the case for Sean, and can shorten the long waiting periods for a deceased‑donor kidney. “It’s the gift of life for someone who can’t avail of a direct donation,” she said. “That’s sharing at its best.”

Sean and Una are both recovering and hope to return to work before Christmas. Una told reporters she expects to lead a “perfectly normal” life with a single kidney and added, “We’re now looking to the future and if Sean gets another 37 years we’ll be doing very, very well.” She also said she would never know much about the recipient of her kidney beyond the fact that they were critically ill and the transplant succeeded. “You don’t need to know someone to change their life,” she said.

“That’s the gift of life through the sharing scheme – the fact that you are making that difference.” Sean said he could not put into words how he felt about his wife, who had given him “the gift of life again”, and he hopes their “phenomenal journey” will encourage more people to consider living donation.