Cystic fibrosis sufferer Shirley Jenkinson, of Cross Street, was put on the waiting list for a transplant more than a year ago after entering the latter stages of liver failure.

Three times Miss Jenkinson was told she was going into hospital for the operation, only for it to be cancelled on each occasion due to complications.

But the former Graham School pupil is now back at home after undergoing successful surgery at Leeds Hospital.

She said: "I feel as though I have been given a second chance at life.

"At one stage I had almost given up hope but even after all the setbacks I felt different about it this time because I had been feeling relatively well in the months leading up to it.

"I had to cut short my holiday in the Lake District to go into hospital, not that I'm complaining. I feel rough at the moment – but glad to be alive."

Cystic fibrosis, a hereditary life-threatening condition which affects the internal organs, often leaves sufferers infertile, but Miss Jenkinson gave birth to seven-year-old Liam when she was 20-years-old.

Miss Jenkinson, who lives with her partner of 10 years, David Johnson, said: "This transplant could put years on my life and enable me to see my son grow up – something I feared I would never get to do."

Around 450 people die each year waiting for a transplant due to a chronic shortage of donors and Miss Jenkinson has urged people to sign the NHS Organ Donor Register by visiting www.uktrans
plant.org.uk or by calling the Organ Donor Line on 0845 6060400.

She added: "I cannot encourage them enough. If it wasn't for someone carrying a donor card, I wouldn't have been given this lifeline."