A West Belfast boy in need of a new heart has been named Grand Marshall of the Féile ab Phobail carnival parade.
Toddler Dáithí Mac Gabhann was born with the extremely rare and life-threatening congenital heart defect Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.
He has been on the waiting list for a new heart for over a year, with his parents Máirtín and Seph campaigning hard to get more people to sign the donor register to increase their boy's chances.
Féile an Phobail announced yesterday (Sunday, July 21) that Dáithí will be the grand Marshall for their carnival parade along with the chance to put awareness of NHS Organ donations at the front of it.
Daithí's dad Máirtín MacGabhann said: "It’s absolutely fantastic news for us.
"We're constantly looking for out of the ordinary and new ways to put organ donation out there and to get people talking about organ donation.
"Our family have been attending Féile an Phobail for years now and it’s an honour for us that Dáithí’s campaign (Donate4Dáithí) is now an official partner of Féile.
There will be thousands of people walking in the parade and we can’t wait to be leading it in the NHS Organ Donation pink with a clear message of 'Let’s Talk About It!'
"We’re also very grateful to be given such a platform to spread the much needed awareness of organ donation, and hope that some of the many thousands that attend the day will consider registering themselves and their families as organ donors.
"Not only are we trying to spread awareness of organ donation, but organ donation in children as well.
"Organ donation with children is less common but the need for new organs does not discriminate against age.
"We understand why people may not want to think about children and organ donation, but this is our reality and we've noticed with sharing Dáithí's personal stories has encouraged hundreds of families in West Belfast to join the Organ Donor Register."
Click here for more information on how to sign up.
Keep up-to-date with all the very latest news, what's on, sport and everything else in Belfast and beyond with the Belfast Live app.
Only select news that interests you by picking the topics you want to display on the app's homepage. Plus, our enhanced user experience includes live blogs, video, interactive maps and slick picture galleries. Download it now and get involved.
Click here to get it from the App Store or here for Google Play .
