Exclusive: Daithi MacGabhann, nine, spent more than eight years desperately hoping for the gift of life. His dad, Mairtin, joined the Mirror's crusade to change the law for life to the opt-out system introduced first in England, then in his native northern Ireland.
Little boy who waited a world record eight years for a new heart is back home at last
Exclusive: Daithi MacGabhann, nine, spent more than eight years desperately hoping for the gift of life. His dad, Mairtin, joined the Mirror's crusade to change the law for life to the opt-out system introduced first in England, then in his native northern Ireland.
News
Jeremy Armstrong News Reporter
15:01, 25 Aug 2026Updated 15:58, 25 Aug 2026
Nine-year-old Dáithí Mac Gabhann, whose heart condition sparked a change in the law around organ donation in Northern Ireland,…
De negenjarige Dáithí uit Noord-Ierland heeft na acht jaar wachten een nieuw hart gekregen, laat zijn familie weten op X. De…
Mairtin Mac Gabhann said he hoped this was ‘the start of an unbelievable journey’ for his son Dáithí.
Doctors had no idea if he was a match until they opened him up
One donor's daughter said they had no idea he could donate after multi-organ failure.
Australia faces critical gap between public endorsement for organ donation and actual registration rates.
