Breaking news: Heart transplant girl Zoe dies

Heart transplant toddler Zoe Chambers has died.

Despite only recently celebrating a full year of good health, the two-year-old from west Hull lost her battle for life after having a transplant on June 28 last year.

Zoe's sudden death comes after fantastic progress since the life saving surgery.

She had spent seven months in three different hospitals, suffered six heart attacks and survived for 100 days attached to a Berlin Heart – a £100,000 piece of equipment that does the work of a heart.

It was at this point, the need for a new heart had become so desperate, Zoe was fast-tracked to the top of the European transplant list.

A heart became available and Zoe underwent the surgery on June 28 last year.

The operation went smoothly and, after a short stay in Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, Zoe returned home to Hull.

Since then Zoe went from strength to strength, she reduced her medication to only one a day – down from more than 30 different tablets, began eating proper food, enabling her family to remove the gastric nasal tube and in March of this year she took her very first steps on Mother's day.

She had been planning on taking part in the British Transplant Games in Sheffield in August.

Carol Olley, a paediatric representative for Transplant Sport UK, confirmed Zoe had died.

She told the Mail: “We are greatly saddened at the loss of Zoe Chambers, one of our youngest members.

“Transplantation offers a renewed quality of life to people with life threatening conditions and for children, the chance to start living their life after illness however, longevity can not be guaranteed.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Chambers family at this sad time.”