A TEENAGER diagnosed with a rare heart condition after collapsing at school is one step closer to getting a lifesaving transplant.

Anna Hadley, 13, collapsed during a PE lesson at Nunnery Wood High School last November before being diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy and Long QT syndrome.

She has now been officially placed on the heart transplant waiting list and will also undergo a “pioneering procedure” in a matter of weeks to help protect her lungs in the meantime.

An aspiring hockey player, Anna, from Worcester, had just been picked to play for the county when she was diagnosed and until her transplant she cannot undertake any strenuous competitive sport.

Dad Andy Hadley said his daughter is “now one step closer to receiving her ‘hockey heart’” – however, this could take up to a year if it happens at all.

“The lack of registered donors means that 20 per cent of heart transplant patients never actually receive their gift of life,” he explained.

“Those that do, wait on average a full year before a donor is found and matched.”

In what her dad described as an “unselfish act” Anna has already consented to offering her “useful” heart valves for donation.

Her failing heart muscle will eventually be used in valuable research projects, such as those funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

“Anna is now due to undergo a pioneering procedure in the next few weeks where surgeons will also create a hole in her heart between the two atrium chambers,” said Mr Hadley.

This will “help to balance the pressure across her lungs and protect them from damage”.

Doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOS) have already fitted a tiny ‘loop recorder’ under Anna’s skin which logs any unusual heartbeat episodes.

This includes high or low heart rates, or other arrhythmias, and downloads this data overnight to the hospital for analysis, while Anna sleeps.

“My new ‘hockey heart’ will save my life and allow me to play hockey again,” Anna said, previously.

“I can’t wait for that day to happen, but it also makes me sad to think that another person will lose their life in order to save mine.”

With her hockey dreams on hold, the plucky teen took part in the Worcester Hearty Walk on April 15 as part of her mission to raise money for the BHF, collecting over £2,650.

Mr Hadley said that he had heard about the Hearty Walk and suggested Anna take part.

“Basically, to refocus her while she's still reasonably able-bodied."

“Her heart doesn’t pump blood round her body at a quick enough rate. She gets tight chested and light headed when she does too much.”

He said: “The recovery period after a heart transplant is six months and after that she goes back to a normal active life – she can climb mountains, swim oceans, play hockey.

“She’ll get back to normality in terms of sport. If she gets a new heart she can play.”

Anna will no longer have the symptoms of her condition after the transplant but will have to continue taking medication and there are always risks of her body rejecting the new heart.

Mr Hadley said his daughter plans to fundraise for a number of charities that have helped her, including GOS and Birmingham Children’s Hospital, until her condition deteriorates too far.

The family have all also signed up to the organ donor register, with one donor able to save or improve the lives of nine people.

Visit justgiving.com/fundraising/annas-hockey-heart to sponsor Anna.