The parents of an 11-week-old baby in desperate need of a heart transplant are urging people to consider donating their organs.
William Jones was diagnosed with a rare disease when he was just a few weeks old.
His heart muscle is thin and stretched and cannot pump properly to move blood around his body.
He is currently the youngest child in the UK on the waiting list for an emergency heart transplant.
Donated organs must come from babies of similar size and weight to an 11-week-old baby.
Now parents Laura Osborne and Stuart Jones, from Hemel Hempstead, are using their first child's plight to urge people to consider registering as organ donors.
Laura, 35, said: “I've been registered as an organ donor for a long time but I never thought my child would donate their organs until now.”
“Now it's up to the family to agree to organ donation. William has no future without a heart transplant.”
“A heart the size of William's doesn't come along very often.
“I hope people will see his story and think about organ donation.”
She added: “We are scared. It could get worse at any moment. I don't know if my baby will make it through this. But he is here and I can see his fighting spirit.”
He is currently on life support at Great Ormond Street Hospital. London.
Laura said William was still smiling and playful, “which shows he has a desire to survive”.
Laura's pregnancy went well and William was born via emergency Caesarean section, but he struggled to breastfeed at home and was very sleepy, and was eventually diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy at hospital.
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Angie Scales, lead nurse for paediatric organ donation at NHS Blood and Transplant Centre, said: “The only hope for William, and for the many other children waiting for a life-saving transplant, is that the parents of other children agree to donate their organs at this time of deep grief and personal heartbreak.
“We encourage parents to think about and discuss organ donation for themselves and their family today – your decision could help save a life.”
Currently, more than 7,000 people in the UK are waiting for an organ transplant, including 250 children.
About 300 patients, including 38 children, are in need of heart transplants.
