Mother of tragic transplant girl Zoe is pregnant again

THE mother of a two-year-old girl who died after undergoing a heart transplant has revealed that she is pregnant again.

Two-year-old Zoe Chambers died in the arms of her mother, Julie, in 2008 – a year after undergoing the operation.

The youngster, who was born with narrow heart valves, had initially appeared to have battled back to health after a 10-hour transplant operation the previous year.

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Mrs Chambers, from Hull, who is expecting the baby next February, said Zoe was irreplaceable. Zoe's plight prompted more than 1.2m people to sign onto the organ donor register,

She and her husband, Robert, who have a seven-year-old son, Dylan, now face an anxious wait to see whether their unborn child will have the same heart defect.

Mrs Chambers said: "Nothing can replace Zoe. She was one on her own – she accomplished more in her little lifetime than so many people by getting 1.2m people on that register.

"It was a shock as all my personal friends knew I didn't actually want another baby.

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"I was very scared and very reluctant for the first couple of days but I think that's what any mum would feel who's lost a child, but I am getting my head round it slowly.

"I didn't know that the baby was round the corner, but it has been sent for a reason. Robert is over the moon and I feel great – I am a lot slimmer and healthier than I was."

Mrs Chambers has been told her risk of having a child with heart disease has doubled to a two-in-100 chance.

She said: "I have a slightly higher chance of having another baby with congenital heart disease. It's rare, but it can happen. I will have an in-depth scan at the end of September to let me know how the baby's heart is – but I am never going to know until the baby is here."

Anyone wishing to sign up to the Organ Donor Register can call 0300 123 2323.

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