SerpApi.Org
A nine-year-old boy who inspired changes to Northern Ireland's organ donation laws has received a heart transplant after a lengthy wait.
The family of Dáithí Mac Gabhann posted on social media on Tuesday to say that he was "at the beginning of his recovery".
"There have already been some big wins for him, but there is still a long road ahead, and we would ask you all to keep him in your thoughts and prayers," the post said.
Dáithí was born in 2016 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, meaning the left side of his heart did not form correctly.
He has been on the list to get a heart transplant for about eight years.
His family said they were "beyond grateful to Dáithí's donor and their family for making such a selfless decision at the most difficult time imaginable".
The operation was carried out at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne.
In 2023 a law was introduced in Northern Ireland which means that people automatically become potential organ donors unless they explicitly say they wish not to be.
The legislation was named "Dáithí's Law", after his family spent years campaigning on the issue.
