A LITTLE girl given just hours to live was undergoing a last-minute heart transplant in a desperate bid to save her.

The 10-hour operation on Emma Standish from Farnworth, Bolton, began early Saturday after a donor heart was found. She was rushed from the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital at Pendlebury, Manchester, to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle to undergo surgery when doctors discovered the match.

The move came after experts told her family on Thursday she had less than 72 hours to live if a transplant was not carried out. Her family were set to issue a nationwide appeal for a donor minutes before the good news arrived.Emma's mother Deborah, 30, and dad Darren, 31, were at her side throughout the journey.

Emma fell ill in June when a virus attacked her heart. She has remained in hospital ever since, and her condition suddenly worsened this week.

Emma's great-aunt, Janet Standish, said: "It is wonderful news. We know that someone had to die for her to have the heart and that is very sad, but if it can give Emma a chance of life we would be so overjoyed.

"We would want to thank that family, who must be going through hell."

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