For families living alongside someone with chronic kidney disease, the journey is rarely a short one. This week we want to share a wonderful kidney charity fundraiser story from Donegal that captures the strength of those families beautifully.
Maria McLaughlin, a healthcare assistant from Bundoran, is taking on this year’s VHI Women’s Mini Marathon in Dublin on Sunday 31 May 2026 as a kidney charity fundraiser for the Irish Kidney Association. She is running in honour of her mother Amanda, who has lived with chronic kidney disease for 28 years.
A daughter, a mother, and a 28-year journey
According to Donegal Woman, Amanda McLaughlin, now 47, has been living with chronic kidney disease for most of her adult life. Last year she began haemodialysis three times a week at Sligo University Hospital. As Maria explained to the publication, this kind of treatment is life-saving, but it also asks a great deal of a person’s time and energy.
Maria’s connection to the kidney community runs especially deep. She works as a healthcare assistant on the specialist nephrology ward at the same hospital where her mum attends dialysis. She sees from both sides what kidney disease asks of patients and families, which makes her decision to lace up her trainers all the more meaningful.
You can read the full original article from Donegal Woman here: Maria’s mini marathon mission inspired by mum’s 28-year kidney disease battle.
Why this story matters to MRIKPA
We often say at MRIKPA that the kidney community is small, close, and largely held together by the people who live within it. Stories like Maria’s are why. The Irish Kidney Association, which Maria is supporting, is the Irish counterpart of the UK kidney charities our members will be familiar with. It provides counselling, advocacy, financial assistance, and even staycation accommodation near hospitals so families do not have to give up time away while a loved one is on treatment.
According to the original article, more than 100 women from 22 counties of Ireland are expected to wear the IKA’s bright yellow t-shirts in this year’s mini marathon, including transplant recipients, living donors, dialysis patients, healthcare workers, and family members. Each one is, in their own way, a kidney charity fundraiser, and it is exactly the kind of cross-section we see at our own casual park walks and at fundraising events like the Manchester Marathon.
A reminder of how common kidney disease is
In her appeal, Maria highlights a statistic worth repeating: chronic kidney disease affects around 1 in 10 people, young and old. For many, the condition is silent for years before symptoms become apparent. Awareness work, fundraising, and family-driven campaigns like Maria’s are part of how that picture gets brighter, both here in Greater Manchester and across the wider kidney community in Ireland.
The timing of the run is also notable. The mini marathon takes place just over a week after Ireland’s Organ Donor Awareness Week (16 to 23 May 2026), a moment when families across Ireland have been talking openly about transplant, dialysis, and the gift of donation. Maria’s kidney charity fundraiser carries that conversation forward beautifully.
How to support Maria
If you would like to support Maria’s kidney charity fundraiser for the Irish Kidney Association, her iDonate page is open for donations at idonate.ie/fundraiser/mariamclaughlin961. Every pound or euro adds up.
From all of us at MRIKPA
We send Maria, Amanda, young Nikol and the wider McLaughlin family our warmest wishes for Sunday. Their story is a powerful reminder of what kidney patients and their families do for one another every day. We will be cheering them on from Manchester.
Stories like Maria’s show why the kidney community matters so much. When a daughter laces up her trainers for her mum, you can feel the love and the resilience that runs through every kidney family.
, Guy Hill, Chair of MRIKPA
If Maria’s story has resonated with you, or if you would like to share your own family’s experience of living with kidney disease, our volunteers are always happy to listen. You are welcome to get in touch at support@mrikpa.org.uk or on 07745 242 684.
Source: Donegal Woman, May 2026. Read the original article.
This article is provided for general information and awareness purposes only and was believed to be accurate at the time of publishing. It is not intended as medical advice. Please always consult your doctor or renal team for guidance on your individual circumstances. Images used are for illustration purposes only and may not be medically or editorially accurate. While we take every care, errors can occur. If you spot an inaccuracy, please let us know at support@mrikpa.org.uk.
