“This is true community.”
The Irish Kidney Association has shared that they have received over 4,000 donor card requests – some for multiple cards – since the airing of Orla Tinsley: Warrior on RTÉ on Monday night.
According to a spokesperson from the group, on an average day, they would receive less than 20 requests via either their freetext number or website.
The piece told the story of Tinsley, an avid Cystic Fibrosis campaigner, and her almost nine-month wait on a transplant list in New York, before finally undergoing life-saving surgery last December.
The 31-year-old Kildare native revealed all about her lifelong battle with the disease and how she wanted cameras to capture her gruelling wait for a lung transplant, even though there was a risk she would die while filming.
1. I'm so in love with everyone right now. The energy and the thousands of messages will take some time to get through. I appreciate every single one. I appreciate deeply the understanding and participation in changing lives that people have committed to. #organdonation
— Dr. Orla Tinsley (@orlatinsley) September 19, 2018
2. 4,000 and climbing. You are so beautiful. This is true community. This is how we are all connected and can help one another. Organ donation is the ultimate legacy. I am thinking of my donor right now because she is the reason I'm alive. #organdonation #recycleyourself
— Dr. Orla Tinsley (@orlatinsley) September 19, 2018
Tinsley first rose to prominence in Ireland when she campaigned for improved services and better access to drugs for people living with Cystic Fibrosis. However, after moving to New York, her health deteriorated when she suffered a bilateral lung collapse.
Having left Ireland to study for a Masters in Creative Writing at Columbia University, she turned 30 in NYC, and, at almost the same time, was put on the list for a double lung transplant there.
Forced to postpone her studies, Orla’s condition deteriorated throughout 2017 and by December she was on life support at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
The documentary sparked a huge reaction online, in which she allowed cameras to chart the crushing lows and dizzying high when she finally received her transplant.
For those of you who wish to watch the documentary, you can do so on the RTÉ Player here.
And to request a donor card, you can do so via the freetext number (send DONOR to 50050) or via the website here.
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