Child heart transplants: ‘I’m ecstatic I got such an amazing gift’

Freya Heddington is able to do her favourite things, like horse riding, again thanks to a new heart.

The 14-year-old from Bristol needed a new one after she was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy, which means the heart cannot fill up properly with blood.

She’s one of the first patients to get a new type of heart transplant in the UK, where so-called “non-beating donor hearts” are revived thanks to a special device.

Read more: New op helps child heart transplant numbers soar