The mother of a little boy who needs an urgent heart transplant has made an emotional plea to find him a suitable match before it is too late.
Shanna Hutcheson said it was now a case of “life or death” for four-year-old Ashton after he needed open heart surgery last month to keep him alive.
Doctors managed to remove two blood clots that had formed in the mechanical pump he has had fitted while he waits for a donor.
But medics have been forced to disconnect the device as it is making him ill and his family have been warned his heart will not last for much longer on its own.
Last night, Mrs Hutcheson said she did not want her son to become another statistic and urged people to consider signing the organ register.
Across the UK, three people die every day while waiting for a donor.
Ashton had to be airlifted to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle – which specialises in mechanical hearts for children – after his pump showed an abnormal reading last month.
The youngster needed two life-saving blood transfusions and ended up on life support.
He is now back home in Northfield, Aberdeen, but his mother said his heart only had a limited time to keep him going.
“The doctors don’t expect his heart to be able to function for long on its own, they said to me maybe even a few weeks,” she said.
“They are expecting him to deteriorate. If and when that happens the doctors said that Ashton will need more open heart surgery, which will mean a 12-hour operation.
“It will also mean taking out the pump he has right now and replacing it with a new one.
“Basically Ashton needs a new heart right now, because this is life or death.”
Mrs Hutcheson said watching her son undergo open heart surgery was one of the most terrifying experiences of her life.
“At one point I actually ran out of the room screaming because there was blood everywhere,” she said.
“Some people are lucky enough to have transplants, but some have died.
“It is so important to donate and I just hope Ashton can receive a transplant soon.”
To find out more about National Transplant Week, contact www.transplantweek.co.uk