A desperately ill 18-month-old girl has had a heart transplant operation after being put at the top of the European waiting list.
Zoe Chambers, from Hull, was kept alive with an artificial heart while she waited for the lifesaving donation, after suffering six heart attacks.
A spokeswoman for the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, said the operation took place late on Wednesday night and into the early hours of Thursday and the little girl is said to be in a stable condition.
Zoe was born with a heart valve which was too narrow and was believed to have weeks to live when the transplant was arranged.
A previous heart transplant was called off after the organ was deemed to be too large.
Her parents Rob and Julie have been keeping vigil with her at the Freeman Hospital, which is a leading transplant centre.
Before the operation, her 33-year-old mother said: "She is desperate. She keeps getting infection after infection.
"She needs a transplant as soon as possible to give her the best chance."
It was unclear where the donor heart came from, but before the transplant, hospital officials said Zoe's case was so serious that if a suitable organ was found anywhere in Europe, it would be flown to Newcastle by private jet.
A hospital spokeswoman said Zoe's parents did not wish to comment on the operation.
