Aimee Duncan is an organ donation advocate and British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland volunteer. In May, Aimee wrote home from Nottingham, where she is a veterinary student, to call for a change in the law on organ donation. In this article, she provides an update on progress at Stormont and what that means for the campaign and for her family.

In May, I wrote for Northern Slant about the opportunity that was in front of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly to change the organ donation system in Northern Ireland from the current opt-in system to soft opt-out. A few months later, we are closer to this soft opt-out organ donation system becoming a reality.

After much campaigning from charities and families and mounting pressure, late on 24 June First Minister Paul Givan confirmed that he had given approval for legislation from Health Minister Robin Swann on soft opt-out organ donation to proceed by way of urgent procedure in the Assembly. On Monday 5 July the Organ and Tissue Donation (Deemed Consent) Bill passed the First Stage of the legislative process, just in time before the end of the Assembly session and the start of its summer recess.

This is a significant moment for us as a family, and we remember my dad, Andrew, at this time. He was so passionate about promoting organ donation and making it more of a mainstream topic than a taboo subject. He was involved in the 2016 campaign, when soft opt-out organ donation legislation first came before the Assembly.

My dad made such an impact on everyone he met. He was always so proud to help the British Heart Foundation in any way he could, to share his story and enlighten others about the impact that waiting on an organ has on the individual and their families. He would be so proud that this Bill has now eventually gone to the Assembly, as are the rest of my family.