Ms Christine Quinn:

I am here today to speak to the committee thanks to the selfless generosity of a donor family.

Briefly, I will tell the committee my story, which began in January 2007 when I got sick. Up until then, I was in perfect health. Later that year I was diagnosed with a rare and incurable lung condition. Over the next few years my condition deteriorated until, in August 2011, matters reached a critical stage. I could no longer work and I was hospitalised. I was dependent on oxygen to keep me breathing. My life was very grim and there was no end in sight.

Professor Jim Egan, with his wonderful team at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, was my life-saver. They cared for me and never let me give up hope. With their help and support, and tremendous kindness, I was given the chance to have a second shot at life. Professor Egan agreed, at this stage, that a transplant was my only means of survival. I was ecstatic, but at the same time I was very nervous wondering would I survive. I was one of the very lucky ones. I was put on that transplant list.

At this stage, I had what everyone else would say was everything but, in reality, I had nothing. I had a good job. I had plenty of money. I had my own house, plenty of friends and my own car, but that was nothing because I had not got my health. None of it was any good to me.

I could barely walk and I could not breathe. I depended on my family and friends to do absolutely everything for me.

Oxygen kept me alive and in September 2011, just two weeks after being put on the list, I got the call that saved my life. I was given the ultimate gift of a lung transplant and thankfully I have never looked back. I am now back at work and am able to do the things in life I love and best of all I can go for a walk and breathe fresh air, something I could not do. I can now do the simple things in life that we all take so much for granted.

People should not be fooled - it was by no means an easy journey and there were days when I wondered if it was worth it all. As members look at me today they see living proof that organ transplantation works. I will be forever grateful to the wonderful family that allowed their loved one to be my donor. There are huge waiting lists for recipients and a great shortage of donors. Advances in medical science result in more successes in transplantation, which should encourage more people to be organ donors.