With many families coming together at Christmas time, the Irish Kidney Association (IKA) is calling on people to use this opportunity to discuss the important issue of organ donation with their loved ones.

It has launched an awareness campaign, which is encouraging people to #HAVE THE CHAT.

"As families gather for the festivities, Christmas offers an ideal opportunity for them to take the time to discuss organ donation and let their loved ones know their wishes. It is your next-of-kin who will make the decision in the event of your untimely death and that's why the campaign's message is all about encouraging families to have the chat" explained RTE journalist, Vivienne Traynor, who is herself a living kidney donor.

In 2009, she donated a kidney to her nephew, Martin.

"Afterwards he could resume a normal life away from dialysis treatment, he could continue to work, and he became a father for the first time to son, Ted, who is now four years old," she said.

However, a few years later, Martin's kidney function began to fail again, but luckily, he did not have to wait long before he was called for another transplant in 2014, this time from a deceased organ donor of a stranger family.

"They made the selfless decision to donate their loved one's organs at a time of great sadness. Since then, Martin and his partner Mary's lives have become even busier as they now have two more beautiful children, daughters Daisy and Billie," Ms Traynor noted.

Also supporting the campaign is the Herlihy family from Sandycove in Dublin. Last April, Shane Herlihy became a living kidney donor when he donated one of his kidneys to his son, Luke (10).

"I am supporting this campaign to raise awareness and encourage people to consider organ donation as it can be transformational for the recipients. In my son Luke's case, he never experienced normal kidney function as he was born with kidney failure and suffered complications that go along with it.

"I was delighted and proud to have been able to proceed with the live donation, and am very grateful for the excellent care that Luke and I both received from the medical teams in Temple Street and Beaumont Hospitals. Crumlin Children Hospital also deserve great credit as they not only saved Luke's life in the critical early days but also brought him to the point where he was able to receive a kidney transplant," Mr Herlihy explained.

He said that while Luke has always been a lively, outgoing child, since the transplant, he has much more energy and can focus more in school.

"He no longer has a restricted diet and has developed a voracious appetite. He is an avid sports enthusiast and has returned to playing Gaelic with his local club, Cuala GAA. He is counting down the days until Santa visits himself and his younger brothers when for the first time he can enjoy the same Christmas dinner as the rest of his family," Mr Herlihy said.

For more information on organ donation and how to obtain an organ donor card, click here

*Pictured is RTE journalist and living kidney donor, Vivienne Traynor, living kidney donor, Shane Herlihy and kidney transplant recipient, Luke Herlihy