The SDLP’s Health Spokesperson Cara Hunter MLA has called for organ donation legislation to be progressed quickly through the Assembly.

The legislation was the result of a long campaign to change the law in Northern Ireland, including from Máirtín MacGabhann, the father of four-year-old Dáithí who needs heart transplant surgery.

The bill would introduce a soft opt-out organ donation system in Northern Ireland, in line with those already operated in England, Scotland and Wales.

Speaking ahead of the Bill coming to the Assembly on Monday, the East Derry MLA said:

“I would like to congratulate the tireless campaigners who have worked so hard to see this bill introduced in our Assembly.

“This legislation is long overdue and will lead to many more lives being saved every year in hospitals in Northern Ireland.

“There is no more time to waste. This bill must be progressed as quickly as possible through the Assembly so we can change the lives of families everywhere in Northern Ireland who have been waiting for far too long for this life-changing news.”