A campaigning former sports star has been credited with generating the impetus that led to a new organ donation system being proposed for Northern Ireland.
Stormont’s political leaders hailed the contribution of champion Gaelic footballer Joe Brolly as they outlined plans for the introduction of a presumed consent model in the region.
Brolly, now a successful barrister in Belfast, made headlines across Ireland last year when he donated one of his kidneys to a fellow volunteer children’s coach at his local GAA club.
The transplant operation on PR executive Shane Finnegan ultimately failed when the organ stopped working but since then Brolly has become a vocal campaigner on the issue.
The 1993 All-Ireland-winning footballer’s story has focused on the need for live donors and on the sensitive topic of whether someone donates after their death.
At present people in Northern Ireland are required to sign on to the organ donor register to make their intentions clear.
Under the opt-out system proposed by Health Minister Edwin Poots today, consent would be presumed unless stated otherwise.
Countries that have adopted the model, such as Spain, have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of donor organs becoming available.
Mr Poots is advocating a so-called ‘soft’ opt-out system in Northern Ireland, which would give bereaved families the ability to stop any donations taking place.
The minister was joined at Belfast City Hospital by Stormont’s First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness to announce the plan.
Afterwards, all three paid tribute to Brolly’s altruism and campaigning. Mr McGuinness said meetings he and Mr Robinson held with the sportsman had been crucial and that coverage of the star’s personal experiences had taken the debate to a higher level.
“It was absolutely clear that the hearts of the entire community went out to both Joe and Shane and we are all hoping that this campaign will be a huge success,” he said.
“Joe is a champion, an All-Ireland gaelic football winner from 1993, who has now become a champion for those people who require donor transplants.”
The Deputy First Minister added: “He made a huge impression on us, he absolutely convinced us of the wisdom of the approach that needed to be adopted.”
Mr Robinson was equally fulsome in his praise.
“If you can put yourself for a moment in the place of a mother or father at the side of the bed of someone who is going to die for the want of an organ or whose quality of life is going to be dramatically worse for the want of an organ, I think you will understand the imperative there is for the campaign that Joe has mounted,” he said.
“We very much support him, we want to see it moving on successfully.”
Mr Poots said a public consultation exercise would now take place to gauge the public’s view on adopting the new system. If it is positive, legislation will be tabled.
He said Prime Minister David Cameron had indicated to him that there were no plans for a UK-wide presumed consent system so the Northern Ireland Executive had decided to push ahead with its own proposal.
“I think there’s a great opportunity out there to ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to live a full and healthy life who otherwise wouldn’t and therefore that’s why we want to put this out to public consultation to give feedback on this,” he said.
“If the consultation comes back favourable we’ll look to bring legislation forward.”
The Welsh Government is currently pressing to introduce a similar presumed consent model.
Brolly, for his part, said he was surprised at the speed at which things had moved.
“I am just delighted because up until now this has been an invisible tragedy, people have been dying needlessly - 10% of people die on waiting lists,” he said.
“It’s a massive boost for that whole community of people who are needlessly suffering.
“I am surprised at the sheer pace that it’s all happened but it just gives you an idea of what these men (the ministers) are capable of doing and I have no doubt that they will be trailblazers in relation to this.”
Brolly was accompanied by Mr Finnegan at the announcement.
“Whenever we came home from London (after the surgery) I sat down with a cup of coffee with Joe and I saw that glint in his eye and I just knew - he started talking to me about developing a campaign to progress the opt-out system - I just knew he was going to have a successful result,” he said.
“Today is testament to him in terms of his determination to drive this process and it’s absolutely fantastic, as Joe said, for all those people out there who are waiting for organs of whatever kind that they see hope at the end of the tunnel - it’s absolutely fantastic.”