Talking about the actual experience of kidney failure and describing your ordeal, yet maintaining you’re uniquely positive and inspirational spirit has been highly motivating for me.

Darren's story demonstrates how important the partnership of the patient in the right frame of mind, the medical team and the medicine is in managing a chronic illness. The impact of Darren's presentation on our team was remarkable.

"Truly inspiring talk by Darren today shows the importance of companies to keep improving treatments for the patients."

"A very powerful story centred around the patient that also captures the primary objective of manufacturing in pharma - patient safety."

"Thank you so much for coming all the way to Strasbourg to speak at the event yesterday. We were delighted with how it all went. Your presentation was excellent – I can tell you enjoy public speaking! Your story definitely made an impression on the policymakers – I was sitting next to a couple of them!"

"I think the standing ovation at the end was a reflection of how well you went down with everyone."

"Your talk was excellent and the feedback from Sligo was extremely positive."


"Darren has a unique ability to connect his experiences as a patient to diverse audiences. A truly engaging and inspiring speaker."

"Darren tells a compelling, intimate story about how healthcare has changed his life. If you work in the fields of healthcare, pharma, or medical devices, he will help your employees understand the vital importance of their work."

Darren Cawley spoke to the staff at the Allergan Westport site during our Health & Safety week in 2016. His talk was inspirational and struck a cord with all of us. There was a realisation after his talk that we were not just working at Allergan we were making products to transform people's lives -what a remarkable impact from a one hour session. Darren has a natural wit and charm and speaks freely and easily about his experience. His positive mental attitude and ability to make it through very challenging times in his life is truly remarkable. I would highly recommend Darren for any company embarking on the quality culture journey to help drive the message of patient safety first.

Thank you so much for participating in our UPMC Leadership Development Programme RiTE session yesterday which was attended by over 100 colleagues including our President of UPMC International, Chuck Bogosta.
Your story was both inspiring and instructive in equal measure and reflects the importance of placing the patient (as a person) at the centre of their care. The feedback from all in attendance has been overwhelmingly positive and deeply appreciative. You are a wonderful advocate and ambassador for the mission, vision and values which should be extant within all aspects of our health services. UPMC’s purpose is to bring ‘Life Changing Medicine’ to the communities we are privileged to serve. Thank you for reminding and reinforcing for us the incredible privilege it is to lead and serve with dignity and respect.

On behalf of the TUN Conference committee I just wanted to say a huge thank you for coming along last Friday and speaking at this year’s TUN Conference. I for one thoroughly enjoyed your talk, I can see why you do it for a living, you were fantastic! I definitely think you were the highlight of the day. The feedback was phenomenal and the only complaint is that people would have liked to listen to you for longer so that’s certainly not a bad one.

"Darren is a very positive and inspiring man. Despite his health background he reminds us all why we should be motivated at work every day. He stresses how important it is to have the right attitude and not think "I work in the Marketing Department or in production" but "I help people who suffer from kidney disease and save lives."

"Darren was a fantastic addition to the Future Health Summit agenda bringing his own experiences as a patient and sharing them with an audience of stakeholders from across the health system. Darren's story of how he has navigated the health system for over 20 years and has come out a more positive and productive person was particularly impactful to the Future Health Summit audience. Darren has an incredible innate ability to humanise healthcare in the eyes of those working in the sector."

"Despite his medical history, Darren remains a very positive person and reminds everyone of why they should face every working day with positivity and motivation. He stresses how important it is to come to work with the right attitude and not think, “I work in marketing or production or...”, but instead “I am helping people suffering from kidney disease and saving lives."