*UPDATED APRIL 2023*

On 5^th April 2023 I won Miss East Belfast, and I am now in the running for Miss Northern Ireland 2023. This year’s contest is all about ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ and I have been lucky enough to have been given a platform to raise awareness of a matter that means a lot to me, my family, and my friends - Organ Donation. 

Since winning my heat and becoming a finalist there has been an increased engagement in my previous and continued fundraising/campaigning in relation to organ donation which I am always extremely grateful for. I encourage anyone who already has a lanyard or car air freshener to read my message below and remind yourself what they are all about.  Prompt yourself to have a conversation with those close to you about organ donation and your wishes surrounding it, lets make this a normal conversation not a morbid one. 

For all the newcomers visiting my page "Hello, Hi, Hiya", I hope you can get to know me by reading my message and support a worthy cause close to my heart and that of many many others.

If you want to follow my journey throughout the contest you can find regular updates on my Instagram @megan.mcgillin and my TikTok @meganmcgillin. 

As many of you will know I have liver disease, I am not one to draw attention to my illness as I don’t let it affect my every day life to me it is simply why I have to take medication everyday and I am acutely aware that there are others who are very poorly and in a worse position than me but also I do not want my family and friends worried about me. I am simply Megan.

For me, childhood was ‘normal’ I went to school, I played a lot of sport and went out with my friends despite spending periods of time in hospital, having procedures and regular doctors appointments. I was, and still am, so grateful to be able to live so freely. 

If you know me well enough you will certainly know how much my friend Lucia meant to me. I met Lucia and her mum Rachel outside the consultants room after being simply told you have liver disease. As a nine year old this was an extremely daunting time for me as I didn’t know what "Liver Disease" meant to me or how it would impact me now let alone my future. But Lucia was my guiding light, she showed me there was nothing to be scared about and to celebrate every day of your life as if it is your last. Lucia was there for me giving me the strength and encouragement I needed to navigate my way through this journey that we were both found ourselves on. 

Lucia had liver disease, the same as me, when I met Lucia she already had two liver transplants and she always reminded us all how grateful she was to her donors and their families for allowing her to continue living and making every single day worth it. 

Lucia set up a campaign ‘Live Loudly, Donate Proudly’ to encourage people to have a conversation with their families, share their wishes and sign the organ donation register. This campaign was never about her or her medical condition but increasing awareness of organ donation so that other people like her could receive the gift of life while those who so selflessly donate their organs are not forgotten. 

Lucia passed away in May 2020, just days before her 21st birthday, after complications of her 4th liver transplant.  I knew I needed to do something to contribute to her campaign and continue making her message heard, this was my way of remembering Lucia and what she stood for. 

As I was going to University I wanted something that would remind those of simply having a conversation so I designed and had produced car air fresheners and lanyards for people in the hope that other people will ask questions about them and a conversation begins about organ donation in turn they may share their wishes with each other. 

on the 1st June 2023, Daithí's Law comes into force in Northern Ireland, this means unless you OPT Out, you or your loved ones may be considered a donor.  This is also why it is very important to have the conversation with your family young and old, the gift of life is an unmeasurable gift that anyone can give. One donor can save up to nine lives, that is nine more individuals with the gift of life.  

I may eventually need a liver transplant but that will not be possible without somebody else letting their family know that they wish to donate their organs to help others. I am proud to say that I am on the Organ Donor Register since I was 16yrs of age, my family all knew that this was important to me and I know they respect that.  You never know if you or your family will ever have to face requiring a transplant or making a tough decision on your loved ones behalf about donating organs.  So go on have the conversation now and have it often. 

In the words of Lucia ‘Live Loudly, Donate Proudly’ 💜💚

*If you are interested in a car air freshener or lanyard please get in touch - they are a great conversation starter*