{"id":1049,"date":"2023-06-02T06:37:07","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T06:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/?p=1049"},"modified":"2025-07-20T15:03:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T15:03:18","slug":"when-is-a-law-not-a-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/index.php\/2023\/06\/02\/when-is-a-law-not-a-law\/","title":{"rendered":"When is a law not a law?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Daithi'sStormont lawn,1st June 2023<\/em><\/p>\n

Northern Ireland has a new law.\u00a0 \u00a0It went live yesterday, 1st June 2023.\u00a0 Despite the title of this blog (see later) it’s a very real law.\u00a0 Too much has gone into bringing it\u00a0into being for it to be anything less.\u00a0 Years of hard work, lobbying, campaigning, raising awareness, educating, persuading, hoping and, somewhere in there, praying.\u00a0 And, in the last few years, a young man in the centre of it all, his smiling, determined face in countless photos and videos\u00a0as\u00a0politicians, ice hockey Giants, boxers and many others join the queue to stand beside him.\u00a0 His name is on the new law that brings Northern Ireland into line with organ donation legislation elsewhere in the UK.\u00a0 D\u00e1ith\u00ed’s Law.<\/p>\n

D\u00e1ith\u00ed Mac Gabhann was born in October 2016 with\u00a0Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. It means that D\u00e1ith\u00ed was born with half a working heart, the left side not fully developing before his birth.\u00a0 His future will depend on the possibility of a successful heart transplant from a suitable donor, and the generosity of a family that may be able to offer hope to another\u00a0from the midst of their own hardest times.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D\u00e1ith\u00ed has been waiting for such a bitter-sweet gift for five years…<\/p>\n

Yesterday\u00a0in Stormont, the N. Ireland Assembly building, representatives from organ donation awareness charities and campaigners came together with teams from the Department of Health, NHS Blood and Transplant organisation, and the Public Health Agency to announce and celebrate the hard-won achievement of D\u00e1ith\u00ed’s Law.<\/p>\n

There were speeches, short and engaging, introducing us to many of the hidden players in the long game that has finally landed this law over the line.\u00a0 Thanks all round,\u00a0expressed in words and applause and felt at real depth around the room.<\/p>\n

Then D\u00e1ith\u00ed’s dad, M\u00e1irt\u00edn.\u00a0 He spoke with the straightforward authority of\u00a0love and gratitude.\u00a0 Gratitude to the campaigners and\u00a0public servants, many present in the room.\u00a0 To community friends and family, to the best and most faithful in the media, and to others who have given immensely over the years and are no longer physically present with us.\u00a0 As M\u00e1irt\u00edn expressed his deepest thanks to Seth, his wife and campaign partner, and then to his son, D\u00e1ith\u00ed, he managed his tears better than more than a few others in the room.<\/p>\n

A very\u00a0proud father, M\u00e1irt\u00edn said, who has learned and is learning, so much from his young son.\u00a0 Grateful to him and inspired by him to go through the\u00a0years of campaigning at\u00a0high\u00a0cost to each of them, planting and nurturing\u00a0hope\u00a0not only for D\u00e1ith\u00ed but for many, many more waiting on the transplant lists.\u00a0 Words done, M\u00e1irt\u00edn lifted D\u00e1ith\u00ed into his arms.\u00a0 There were tears then, and a standing ovation, and D\u00e1ith\u00ed’s law is live.<\/p>\n

So.\u00a0 The new law.\u00a0 Simply this: its intent is to increase the current number of organs available to those in need of a transplant.\u00a0 Instead of having to actually sign the register, or tick the box on the driver’s licence application (“I always meant to get round to it, just haven’t done it yet…”), the new opt-out system means that all adults in NI, unless in an excluded group, will be considered to be organ donors after death unless they chose to opt-out.<\/p>\n

When is a law not a law?\u00a0 Well, technicalities, legalities and philosophy aside, the new law will not mean anyone is obliged by the medical profession, or the government, or any other power-that-may-be to become a donor against their will.\u00a0\u00a0Everyone will still have a choice \u2013 people are free to opt-in, opt-out or amend their decision at any time.\u00a0 You can do it today.\u00a0 Or tomorrow.\u00a0 (Today’s better…)<\/p>\n

And whatever your decision, whether you are happy to be on the list as a presumed donor or just never got round to opting out, your family will still be consulted (they always have been, so don’t presume that just because you ticked a box some time ago the job’s done.\u00a0 Your family will still have the word.)<\/p>\n

Imagine you are in that tiny percentage (1%) who dies under the right circumstances to be considered a possible donor.\u00a0 When your death is confirmed, and only then, your family may be approached by highly trained staff to consider the possibilities of organ donation.<\/p>\n

If your family know your thoughts and wishes about the possibility of donation you may have given them a gift that will help them in those difficult moments\u00a0and, as donor families often say in the most moving ways, well beyond.<\/p>\n

And that’s it.\u00a0 It’s a new law, but it’s still up to you.\u00a0 And your family.\u00a0 So think about it, talk about it.\u00a0 Make it part of a conversation with your family or with others close to you so everyone is certain of each other\u2019s decision.\u00a0 Don’t keep it to yourself.\u00a0 And if you, or your family, are donors, or prepared to be donors, then say so.\u00a0 Be proud.\u00a0 Be very proud.\u00a0 Live Loudly, Donate Proudly…<\/p>\n

To find out more, visit Organ Donation NI<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0 #YouCouldBeALifesaver<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stormont lawn,1st June 2023 Northern Ireland has a new law.\u00a0 \u00a0It went live yesterday, 1st June 2023.\u00a0 Despite the title of this blog (see later) it’s a very real law.\u00a0 Too much has gone into bringing it\u00a0into being for it to be anything less.\u00a0 Years of hard work, lobbying, campaigning, raising awareness, educating, persuading, hoping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,6,8,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-news-and-events","category-personal-story","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phtpid-gV","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1049"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1073,"href":"https:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049\/revisions\/1073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-loudly-donate-proudly.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}