Frank Deasy facts for kids

Frank Deasy (born May 19, 1959 – died September 17, 2009) was a talented Irish screenwriter. He was known for writing exciting stories for television and movies. Frank won an Emmy Award for his work on the TV series Prime Suspect. He was also nominated for other awards for his shows Looking After Jo Jo and The Grass Arena. Another important project he worked on was The Passion, a mini-series made by BBC and HBO.

Before he passed away from liver cancer on September 17, 2009, Frank Deasy bravely spoke about his illness in public. He appeared on a radio show called Liveline on RTÉ Radio 1. His powerful message led to a huge increase in requests for organ donor cards in Ireland. This shows how much he cared about helping others, even during a difficult time.

Frank Deasy's Life and Career

Frank Deasy grew up in Artane, Dublin, Ireland. Before becoming a famous writer, he worked helping children for the Eastern Health Board in Ireland. Later, he moved to Glasgow, Scotland, and loved it so much that he stayed there. He passed away in Scotland in 2009.

His Amazing TV Shows and Films

Frank Deasy wrote many popular TV shows and films. His most famous works include Prime Suspect and The Passion. A TV critic from The Daily Telegraph newspaper, James Walton, said The Passion was a very smart and interesting drama, just what you would expect from Frank Deasy.

For the Irish TV channel RTÉ, he wrote Father & Son. This show was very popular in Ireland, with many people watching its first episodes in 2009. It was often one of the top ten TV shows in Ireland. Father & Son even had a character, Barrington Smith, who needed a kidney transplant and had to escape prison to find a cure. Even with all this success, some people in Ireland didn't know Frank Deasy very well at the time.

Frank also wrote for movies. He helped write the film Prozac Nation for Miramax. This movie starred famous actors like Christina Ricci and Jessica Lange. At the time of his death, Frank was working on a drama called Gaza for BBC Films. This film was supposed to start filming in October 2009. A year before he died, Gaza was on the "Brit List," which highlights the best unproduced screenplays in Ireland and the UK. He was also planning to write a BBC drama series about the famous House of Medici family and another series for RTÉ about a family's history over a century.

Frank Deasy's Health and Organ Donation Appeal

Frank Deasy was first diagnosed with liver cancer four years before he passed away. He had surgery to remove the cancer, but it sadly returned in January 2009.

His Public Appeal for Organ Donors

Just days before his death, Frank started talking publicly about his health. On his last Sunday, The Observer newspaper published an article where he shared his story. He used his experience to ask more people to become organ donors. Frank said, "I am only one of thousands of patients on organ transplant lists in Britain, living on our own, invisible, death row." Actor Dougray Scott, who starred in Frank's show Father & Son, supported him in the article. The Observer also wrote an editorial asking for a system where everyone is presumed to be an organ donor unless they say no.

The next day, The Scotsman newspaper also shared Frank's story. Later that day, he appeared on Joe Duffy's Liveline radio show. He made a strong appeal for more organ donors, saying it was a "very urgent matter." On the day his death was reported, it was confirmed that at least 5,500 people had applied for organ donor cards since his interview. This included 2,000 right after the show and another 3,500 the next day. To compare, a similar request on The Late Late Show in 2007 only led to 1,000 new donor applicants.

The Evening Herald newspaper also covered Frank's story on September 16, one day before he passed away in The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. The number of new organ donor card requests rose to 10,000 just one day after Frank's death. This was three times the amount usually received during a yearly appeal. Frank's blood group was B, which only about 10% of people have. This meant he could only receive a transplant from someone with the same blood group.

Frank lived in Scotland when he passed away in the hospital. He is remembered by his wife, Marie, and their three children. Seven weeks after his death, a special seminar about organ donation was held in Dublin, inspired by Frank Deasy's powerful message.

Tributes to Frank Deasy

Many people shared their sadness and admiration for Frank Deasy after he passed away. Mark Murphy, the CEO of the Irish Kidney Association, praised Frank's "selflessness" during his final days. Anthony Jones, Frank's agent, called him a "wonderful, funny, tough and clever man."

Jane Gogan, who worked with Frank at RTÉ Television, said he "brought a tremendous honesty and passionate intensity to his work." She added that he would be greatly missed as a friend and inspiration, and even more so as a husband and father. Actor Dougray Scott said Frank was "quite simply the most extraordinary and brilliant writer I have ever worked with." He also called Frank "one of the most extraordinary and beautiful men I was blessed to have met." Dougray Scott felt that whenever he spent time with Frank, he felt the same warmth, wisdom, and joy for life that he remembered from his own father. He described Frank as protective, caring, loving, and very brave. The Evening Herald newspaper wrote in its editorial that Frank Deasy "gave hope to thousands."

Awards and Nominations