'If I hadn't got my new heart, I wouldn't be able to tell you my story'

ELODIE HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF ORGAN DONATION IN NEW CAMPAIGN

- By SAM VOLPE Reporter

Elodie Gray with her family at the British Transplant Games

AN 11-year-old who needed a heart transplant at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital is starring in a new NHS video campaign to encourage families to consider organ donation.

Elodie Gray appears in the campaign titled Hope Takes Flight, which has been released by the NHS Blood and Transplant organisation.

Elodie, who lives in Bristol but was an NHS patient on Tyneside when she was a tiny baby and diagnosed with life-threatening dilated cardiomyopathy, had her transplant in 2014. She said her transplant has allowed her to enjoy things other youngsters take for granted and she has also been able to visit Disneyland.

She said: "My new heart means I can do things that other children do, spend time with my dogs Coco and Bhodie, ride my bike, simple things.

"My highlights have been going to Disneyland, Florida, Britain's Got Talent meeting the judges and pressing the 'X' red button and helping others.

"Organ donation is a great thing! I wish more people get fixed and can enjoy life again, a very underrated word. Hope Takes Flight brings a very serious subject to discussion, if I hadn't got my new heart, I wouldn't be able to tell you my story."

Elodie, who lives in the Kingswood area of Bristol with her family - dad Colin, mum Sarah and siblings Freya and Austin has now celebrated the tenth anniversary of her transplant.

Along with others to have been through transplant care, she is a star of the campaign's launch video. This comes as up to 8,000 people a record are thought to be approaching Christmas waiting for a transplant.