THE COUPLE involved in the country's first spouse-to-spouse living transplant operation were discharged yesterday from hospital to return home.
The couple, Deirdre and Ned (Edward) Crowe from Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary made Irish medical history last week when Deirdre donated one of her kidneys to her husband.
The operation, which was carried out at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, represented the first occasion in which a living transplant procedure had been performed between people here who were not blood relations.
The couple were yesterday discharged from Beaumont to return to their three young sons.
Mr Crowe had been on the waiting list for a transplant for three years.
In a statement Deirdre Crowe said: "I am delighted to say that both Ned and myself are making a quick recovery and are looking forward to going home to our three boys and our extended family and friends.
"We would like to offer special thanks to all the staff at Beaumont Hospital including both surgical teams who successfully managed both operations.
"We can now look forward to a brighter future where Ned no longer requires gruelling dialysis treatment."
The chief executive of the Irish Kidney Association, Mark Murphy, said that the operation represented "a landmark occasion for living transplantation in Ireland".
"It opens the door to many other possibilities for living transplantation not just for spousal donations but also for non-related friends of donors," he said.
The transplant operation on Mr Crowe at Beaumont was carried out by transplant surgeon Dilly Little.
Mrs Crowe's operation was performed by Beaumont surgeon Molly Eng.
