Daithy Mac Gavan: Alan Shearer wishes Belfast boy good luck with heart transplant surgery

Dicey Mac Gavan attended the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne this week, said to be one of the most experienced and successful solid organ transplant centers in the UK.

The 7-year-old has been battling hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) since birth and has become increasingly reliant on a wheelchair and oxygen as he waits for a heart transplant donor.

The west Belfast boy has now been waiting for life-saving treatment for an astonishing 2,000 days.

On Monday, the Donate4Dáith page was posted on social media platform X, writing: “Ahead of tomorrow's engagement at Freeman, in keeping with our six-year tradition, Dice visited the @AlanShearer statue and now has his own number 9 shirt.

“Daiti had been waiting for the gift of a heart transplant for almost six years.”

Newcastle United FC icon Mr Shearer then re-shared the post, adding: “Good luck to Mr Daiti in his appointment.”

The younger Daiti responded to a “Game of the Day” pundit to let him know that he “did very well” drawing blood during a medical exam.

Dáithí, along with her parents Martin and Sef, have been promoting the Donate4Dáithí campaign since she was a child and helping to raise awareness about organ donation.

Although the Daithi Act was allowed to come into force, it was postponed until it was approved by Westminster after the collapse of the administration in February 2022. The law took effect in June.

Due to Daiti's deteriorating health, he was taken off the list during the summer, but was able to regain his place after traveling to Newcastle for heart surgery in July.

Her father, Martin, previously told the Belfast Telegraph that looking back over the summer, losing Mr Dythi was “unimaginable”.