Baby fights for life as he waits for heart transplant

George was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart failure

A baby is fighting for his life in paediatric intensive care after suffering a heart failure.

George is just a few weeks old and may not survive more than the next few days without a heart transplant.

His mum Emma Wathey, from Billingham on Teesside, is now facing a desperate wait for a donor at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital.

She said she could not imagine her life without George.

Emma and George are desperate to find a donor

Twenty-seven-year-old Emma has not left the Freeman since George was transferred there.

“It’s just all so hard to take in – there’s been that much going on and his birth seems so long ago – it’s like a distant memory," she said.

“It’s like a nightmare you cannot wake up from – you’re confused, frustrated – and everything is changing all the time and all you want is for him to be better.”

George's family know a tragedy must happen to another family for him to be saved

There was no indication George had heart problems in the run-up to and after his birth.

He returned home, but days later Emma found him "grey" and immediately called an ambulance. George was later transferred to the Freeman where a scan confirmed heart failure.

“It’s been just me and George right from the beginning, we’ve had a difficult journey right from the start but we got through it together," said Emma.

“He is my best friend and I thought we had the rest of our lives together, I can’t imagine my life without my little boy and having to say goodbye after such a short amount of time together.”

More than 230 children in the UK are waiting for an organ transplant and 45 of them need a heart.

Emma is "very aware" that for George to get a new heart, a family somewhere else has to go through their own personal tragedy, and then make the decision for their child to become a donor.

“If the day comes, it’s a pure selfless act to save others – one I would be forever grateful for,” she said.