THE family of a Ballymurphy child, who is waiting on the gift of a new heart, have expressed their delight after life-saving organ donation legislation passed its final stage at Stormont.
New legislation, which will come into effect in 2023, will introduce a soft opt-out system whereby people will automatically become organ donors unless they state otherwise.
The bill, now known officially as 'Dáithí's Law', is named after Dáithí Mac Gabhann (5), who was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and requires a heart transplant.
His family set up the Donate4Dáithí campaign which raises awareness of organ donation, and helped pave the way for Health Minister Robin Swann's soft opt-out bill.
The resignation of First Minister Paul Givan had sparked fear that the bill would not pass in the current Assembly mandate. However, the bill cleared its final hurdle on Tuesday.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, Dáithí father, Máirtín MacGabhann, said: "The most important thing of the whole day is that the life-saving legislation has passed its final stage.
"A massive bonus, which fills us with pride really, is the fact that Robin Swann has decided to name the bill after Dáithí.
"You (the Andersonstown News) have followed our story for so long, and you know everything that we've done, and we truly believe we've moved mountains to get to this stage because it didn't look like it was going to happen.
"To be standing in Stormont today is absolutely incredible. It's definitely the proudest day of the campaign, but it's also one of the proudest days of our lives. We got there and we do believe we've got there because of Dáithí story. It's hard to put my gratitude into words, but we're just so grateful that we got it over the line."
The Andersonstown News first reported Dáithí's story in June 2018, just a few short weeks after he first joined the organ donation waiting list. Intervening years have seen his family bring their campaign to the forefront of people's minds across Belfast and beyond.
Their momentous journey has seen the campaign ingrained in the very fabric of their native West Belfast, where Dáithí has long-been recognised as a community champion.
The far-reaching campaign, and the distinctive pink colour which has become synonymous with the Donate4Dáithí, has been represented in virtually all aspects of community and public life locally due to the tireless efforts of his parents, Máirtín and Seph.
Welcoming Dáithí's law, Health Minister Robin Swann said: “I’m delighted that the soft opt-out bill has passed today. It marks a hugely significant step forward for all those waiting for a transplant.
“The new law will strengthen the current legislative framework around organ donation and will increase the current rate of consent in the small number of cases in which it is clinically possible for organ donation to proceed after a person’s death. Doing so will increase the overall number of donors, and ultimately the number of lifesaving organs available for transplantation.”
If you would like to sign the register or would like more information, please take the time to visit the organ donation NI website.
