Local Fianna Fáil Senator, Robbie Gallagher, has welcomed the passing of a new bill providing for soft opt-out organ donation. Under the legislation, consent for organ donation will be deemed unless a person has, while alive, registered his or her wish to not become an organ donor after death. According to Senator Gallagher, he has been campaigning over recent years for this legislation to be expedited, because it is a fact that organ donation saves lives.
Speaking to Northern Sound, he said that the donation greatly enhances and, in many ways, saves the life of the person receiving the donation. He added that he is "delighted" to see that this legislation has been passed as it will save lives.
Senator Gallagher added; "When someone makes a decision to have his or her organs donated, he or she gives the most important gift, that is, the gift of life. It can also give a sense of healing, meaning and consolation to a family of a bereaved person in that they will know that despite their great loss, their loved has the potential to give the gift of life or to enhance the life of another human being."
