We caught up with Irish comedian and podcast extraordinaire Jarlath Regan to discuss his kidney donation, his hit-show Organ Freeman and his recent podcast guest, Minister for Health, Simon Harris.
In 2017, Jarlath Regan donated a kidney to his older brother Adrian who was suffering from deteriorating kidney function due to a condition he had battled since childhood. According to the comedian, the decision to part with an organ was a surprisingly easy one and, thankfully, the surgery went off without a hitch.
Thanks for all the messages guys. We're both over the moon with the results. So far so good. #KidneyDonation #BeastMode #IrishBrothersAbroad pic.twitter.com/xqKaBu8qc8
— Jarlath Regan (@Jarlath) 3 February 2017
Being in the business of content creation, it is no surprise that Jarlath's lifesaving act of kindness eventually led to a standout stand-up show, aptly named Organ Freeman, and a special organ donation episode on his cult-favourite podcast, An Irishman Abroad.
Now, the comic has recorded a follow-up episode to celebrate the second anniversary of the surgery. In this special, Jarlath opens up the discussion to the wider area of organ donation and speaks to Health Minister Simon Harris to discuss his hopes for the introduction of an opt-out system in Ireland.
You can read our interview with the comic, below:
What has your biggest highlight been since the Organ Freeman tour kicked off?
On a personal level, seeing my brother feeling and looking better is the highest high. But more generally, seeing the rise in sign-ups for organ donor cards, hearing that it is becoming more part of the public dialogue and just the general sense that all of the campaigning and all that the associations and individuals involved have done, is paying off. That's the biggest achievement for me.
Has your relationship with your brother changed since the transplant?
Since giving him my kidney, we're a lot closer. Only we, and other people who have lived through a "live donation", fully get the bond we now have. He's a lot funnier now of course!
What is the Human Tissues Act (Opt Out) organ donation legislation and what do we need to know?
In simple terms, it's about a new register being introduced. If you'd prefer not to be involved in organ donation at all, you sign it. If you would like to be involved in organ donation, then you're all good.
Your family will still be asked for a final yes or no in the event of your death so you still need to let people know. Nobody's going to just take anything without asking.
The Act just brings that into law. The best way to help is to talk about organ donation at your family dinner table, listen to the podcast and hear the stories of its power. Figure out where you stand and let people know about your position.
What prompted you to make a second-anniversary organ donation special?
Partially it was Simon Harris putting forward the "opt out" system. People are so busy pounding him that they forget that he has put forward this game-changing idea.
Nobody was talking about it and a lot of people have peculiar ideas about "opt out", donation itself and they forget that not everything Simon does should be beaten with a stick. I guess it was also the idea that life goes on! Organ donation lets other lives continue when they'd normally end. In my case, as the donor, life has gone on - as normal!
Since donating I obviously needed to recover but I wanted to mark two years of healthy life and try to dispel some other myths surrounding the process and the way in which organs are procured after someone is "medically dead".
What was the biggest learning after speaking with Simon Harris?
How decent and sincere a man he is when it comes to this issue. The guy has been demonised in my opinion. He took a job no-one else wanted. Why? Why wouldn't they take the role of Health Minister? I feel like others might have known things, information that he didn't and he went in with a sincere belief that he could do good, unaware of the storms that were brewing. And now he finds himself in a tornado.
I asked him to talk about that sense of how overwhelming the job has been to him and his family. I got the sense that he feels terrible about the crisis he is facing in the system and that he struggles not to be consumed by it.
What is the one lesson you want people to take away about organ donation in Ireland?
The power of it. I want people to fully understand how this simple box tick and conversation can lead to saving the life of, let's say, a child who is sick in hospital right now with both parents worried beyond belief, reassuring him it will "all be ok" but not knowing. Those people are counting on you. They may never recover from this loss and you can prevent it.
The stories on the show explain how easily it can happen to your family, situations like this are common but they take place inwards out of sight. Your decision to have a chat with your family and get a card could be the difference for up to five different tragic situations. I've seen it first hand. It's no joke.
You can listen to The Organ Donation Episode of An Irishman Abroad here.
