Northern Ireland

Beaming smiles from Dáithí Mac Gabhann family as new organ donation law passed

Dáithí Mac Gabhann and his father Máirtín outside the Houses of Parliament in London, before watching the NI Executive Formation Bill pass through the Commons. Picture by Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
Dáithí Mac Gabhann and his father Máirtín outside the Houses of Parliament in London, before watching the NI Executive Formation Bill pass through the Commons. Picture by Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
By Suzanne McGonagle

The beaming smiles from Dáithí Mac Gabhann and his family said it all at Westminster on Wednesday as MPs officially backed a new organ donation law for Northern Ireland.

Watching from the public gallery at the House of Commons, the six-year-old high-fived his father when MPs passed the amendment.

Dáithí's Law, named after the west Belfast boy who requires a heart transplant, will now be implemented after politicians supported the change to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill as it passed through its Commons stages.

The Bill received an unopposed second reading and will now head to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.

Dáithí and his parents, Máirtín Mac Gabhann and Seph Ní Mhealláin, had travelled to Westminster to watch the regulations introduced by the UK government clear their Commons stages.

Dáithí's Law is named after the west Belfast boy who requires a heart transplant. Picture by Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
Dáithí's Law is named after the west Belfast boy who requires a heart transplant. Picture by Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

Mr Mac Gabhann said they were delighted to see the soft opt-out organ donation law go through.

He said they expected the legislation, which will bring Northern Ireland into line with laws in the rest of the UK, to get Royal Assent on March 6 with Dáithí's Law in place for early summer.

The law had been delayed due to the political stalemate at Stormont.

But the last-minute intervention by the UK government has ensured that the new opt-out system will be implemented. It will mean all eligible adults in Northern Ireland will be considered as potential organ donors unless they specifically opt-out.

Similar legislation is already in place across the UK.

Mr MacGabhann told PA it had been "an emotional day and a very proud day".

Picture by Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
Picture by Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

"The victory is finally sinking in. I don't think it will fully sink in for a few years maybe," he said.

He also said there was "celebration in the air" and that they are "just delighted, beyond proud of Dáithí, beyond proud of ourselves and looking forward to Dáithí's Law being implemented".

"Over the past few weeks we have been let down again and again," he said.

"We didn't think we would be here today, but we are."

Speaking in the Commons, Northern Ireland secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris said Dáithí was "going to make some history today".

Fearghal McKinney from the British Heart Foundation NI said it was "a historic day" for the Mac Gabhann family and "the entire organ donation and transplant community in Northern Ireland".

Daithi McGahbann and his father Mairtin McGahbann outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Picture by Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
Daithi McGahbann and his father Mairtin McGahbann outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Picture by Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire