Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
This is brilliant... it will help other children like me
Heart transplant boy Max’s joy at organ donor law move PM brings in opt-out system after our battle to save lives
would be fun if they did that. Do you think Theresa May saw my picture in the Mirror? I hope so because that is why I did it. I wanted people to realise what it is like to be on the waiting list.
“I wanted to help others waiting for a new organ like me.”
Max, who had cardiomyopathy, is now back with parents Emma and Paul in Winsford, Cheshire, after his operation in August at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
Civil servant Paul, 44, said: “The announcement is a testimony to the Mirror campaign. We are proud to be part of it. You kept it going, kept the pressure on those in power.
“It gave real wind to the sails for change. I think Theresa May listened. I take my hat off to her. But the real kudos is for the Mirror, the campaign has been absolutely superb. I think Max put the human face on it.”
Another patient desperately needing a transplant, Sonia Alves from Bournemouth, also praised the decision, sparked by our two-year Change The Law For Life campaign. The mum-ofthree, 37, has had kidney failure since she was 14. She said: “I have dialysis every day, I’ve been waiting for a transplant for almost three years. The change will hopefully mean I get that transplant I need and can be a mum, not a kidney patient.”
Bob King’s life was saved when he had a heart transplant 20 years ago. The 72-year-old, of Rustington, West Sussex, said: “This will save so many lives. When families are faced with this horrible decision at the worst time it will make all the difference. It’s tremendous.” Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson backed our drive and put forward a Private Members’ Bill calling for a change to the law.
He said: “It’s great to see the Government have reacted to the Mirror’s campaign