15/07/2008

Heart Transport Toddler Dies

Zoe Chambers, the toddler who received a heart transplant after suffering six cardiac arrests, has died.

The two-year-old from Hull, East Yorkshire, who was born with narrow heart valves, had been kept alive by an artificial heart before a donor was found via a media campaign last year.

She underwent a ten-hour operation at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle last June.

Zoe's tragic death comes just one month after her parents, Rob and Julie, had thrown a party to celebrate a year of good health for the toddler following her operation.

Transport Sport UK confirmed Zoe's death. The charity's Carol Olley said: "We are greatly saddened at the loss of Zoe Chambers, one of our youngest members.

"Although transplantation saves many thousands of lives each year, sadly some recipients are not as lucky.

"Transplantation offers a renewed quality of life to people with life-threatening conditions and for children, the chance to start living their life after illness.

However, longevity can not be guaranteed."

Zoe had been due to be the youngest competitor at the British Transplant Games, which will be held in Sheffield in August.

(KMcA/JM)

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