A Dundonald family have described the "gift of life" they received as they celebrate their daughter's second transplant anniversary.
When Ellie McConville was just 12 weeks old in June 2020, she was diagnosed with a rare liver condition called Biliary Atresia and was told that she would require a transplant.
She secured a place on the transplant list in October and a couple of months later on December 22, a few days before her first Christmas, her mum Ashleigh received a call at 3am saying that a transplant was available for Ellie and they needed to be on the 6am flight from Belfast to Birmingham.
Read more: Dáithí's Law expected to save the lives of organ transplant patients from next spring
Since then Ellie has gone from strength to strength and is a healthy and happy three-year-old "due to the kindness of a complete stranger and their family agreeing to an organ donation".
Ashleigh said: "In June 2020, when she was 12 weeks, old Ellie was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, a rare liver condition, and we were told she would need a transplant. In October, she was able to be placed on the transplant waiting list.
"It was the 22 December, only a few days before Ellie’s first Christmas, when the call came at 3am to say there was a possible liver for Ellie and to be on the 6am flight from Belfast to Birmingham.
"I’ll always remember having to wake Ellie’s big brother Harry to say goodbye and tell him myself and Ellie wouldn’t be there for Christmas, and him saying he didn’t mind as long as Ellie got her liver.
"After eight days Ellie was recovered enough to travel home and we had our own Christmas at the start of January. Since then, she has gone from strength to strength, we have had a few bumps along the way but she is now a healthy, cheeky, nearly three-year-old who is living her best life thanks to the kindness of a complete stranger and their family agreeing to organ donation.
"Being on the organ donor register myself, I always thought I would be donating my organs when I passed away rather than relying on someone else to keep my daughter alive.
"It is really difficult to put into words the gratitude we have to her donor and their family for agreeing to organ donation in such difficult times."
Sunday, December 11 is Organ Donation Discussion Day, where the Publich Health Agency is encouraging people to think about organ donation, register a decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register, and to talk about that decision with loved ones.
There are currently 146 people in Northern Ireland waiting for a transplant and last year 15 people died waiting for one.
Last year in Northern Ireland, 55 families supported organ donation, which enabled 127 life-saving transplants across the UK.
In the first six months of this year (April-September), 45 people have benefited from a deceased organ transplant in Northern Ireland. Overall, 100 lives here were saved and transformed through deceased organ donation last year, and 61 through living donation.
The PHA said that 90% of people in Northern Ireland support organ donation, but only 52% have registered their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
As Christmas approaches the PHA is asking people to consider a very special gift, 'the gift of life' through organ donation, which transforms hundreds of lives every year.
Catherine Coyle, Organ Donation lead at Public Health Agency said: “Signing the Organ Donor Register and ensuring that loved ones are aware of your decision, will leave your family certain about what you would have wanted should the worst happen.
"Families will always be involved before organ donation goes ahead which is why letting them know your decision is so important. Only half of families agree to donation if they don’t know their loved one’s decision, but this rises to 9 out of 10 if they know their loved one wanted to save lives through donation. On Organ Donation Discussion Day, we encourage everyone to have this conversation.”
In spring next year, the law around organ donation in Northern Ireland will change to an opt-out system.
‘Dáithí’s Law’, named after 5-year-old organ donation campaigner Dáithí Mac Gabhann who has been awaiting the gift of a new heart for over 4 years, will mean in the event that organ donation is a possibility after you die, it will be considered that all adults agree to being an organ donor unless they choose to opt out or are in an excluded group.
The best way to opt out is by registering a decision not to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
The PHA said that even when Dáithí’s Law comes into effect next spring, the need for family conversation and awareness of each other’s decision remains vital, as families will continue to be involved before organ donation goes ahead.
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