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The family of a six-year-old Northern Ireland boy waiting for a heart transplant is heading to Westminster where new organ donation laws are expected to be backed by MPs.

Dáithí's Law, named after Dáithí Mac Gabhann, was delayed due to the political stalemate at Stormont.

But a last-minute intervention by the UK government will now ensure a new opt-out system is implemented.

That will bring Northern Ireland in to line with laws in the rest of the UK.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton Harris said an amendment would be made to a bill going through the Commons on Wednesday, the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill.

Earlier this week, Mr Heaton-Harris said the government's intervention was an "exceptional" case and was being done "in recognition of just how important this issue is".

Last month, an attempt to pass organ donor laws at Stormont failed after the Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP) blocked the election of a speaker.

'Exceptional intervention'

The DUP is boycotting the power-sharing institutions over its protest against post-Brexit trade rules known as the Northern Ireland Protocol. It means Northern Ireland has been without a government for a year.

The (Northern Ireland Executive Formation) bill which is expected to pass all its Commons stages on Wednesday, will also extend the deadline for holding a fresh assembly election in Northern Ireland.

It will further delay the requirement for the formation of an executive at Stormont until 18 January next year and delay an Assembly election to 11 April at the latest.

"The people of Northern Ireland deserve to have a fully-functioning devolved government working on the important issues impacting them, and achieving this remains my top priority," Mr Heaton-Harris said in a statement.

 "This bill creates the time and space needed to focus attention on restoring Stormont and for UK-EU negotiations to reach a solution on the NI Protocol that meets the needs of people across Northern Ireland. 

"The bill will also see the installation of an opt-out organ donation system. While this exceptional intervention by the government is welcome and important, I am disappointed the decision was not taken by locally-elected decision-makers in the NI Assembly."

The Mac Gabhann family will watch the proceedings in the House of Commons.

What is Daithi's Law?

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Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where an opt-out organ donation system is not in place.

Dáithí's Law was introduced in the Stormont assembly in 2021 and passed its final stage in February 2022.

It would mean all adults in Northern Ireland would be considered a potential organ donor after their death unless they specifically stated otherwise.

But last month it emerged that additional legislation was needed to specify which organs and tissues were covered under the opt-out system.

Read more: What is Dáithí's Law and why has it been delayed?

The bill could complete all of its stages in Parliament by 6 March.

There would then be a lead-in time of three months before the opt-out system could effectively begin in Northern Ireland, meaning it could be in place by the start of summer.

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