Parents’ delight as Penelope Greathead heart op a success

Penelope will now stay in Great Ormond Street with her parents until she can have a heart transplant, though they have been told this could take up to two years due to the scarcity of organ donations.

The family said raising awareness about the importance and impact of organ donation was now “key to her future”.

Mr Greathead said he and Ms Suff were likely to spend Christmas Day with a coffee by Penelope’s bedside.

He added: “We’re happy because after everything that’s happened we could have been in a very different position.

“But she’s in the best place in Europe she could possibly be now.”

Penelope’s parents raised nearly £130,000 in just a few days earlier this month, after being told their daughter needed the procedure and there was a shortage of NHS beds capable of supporting the treatment.

However, the couple were then told that Great Ormond Street could accommodate Penelope, meaning the cash was no longer needed.

As a result, her parents, who thanked kind-hearted strangers “from the bottom of our hearts”, have said they will donate the money to other families facing a similar situation.

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