A COURAGEOUS woman waiting for an urgent heart-lung transplant has put her own problems to one side to raise money for others like her.

Kerry Jackson, of Bewdley, challenged darts ace Bobby George to a charity game and lost hands down. But she was over the moon at winning £500 for Papworth Hospital and its pioneering work in the field of organ transplants.

Thirty-seven-year-old Kerry, of Crundalls Lane, is on stand-by for her second life-saving operation at the Cambridgeshire Hosp-ital as soon as a donor can be found.

Her first double organ transplant was in 1994 but after a relapse in her condition she was given only 12 to 18 months to live last year and fears she may soon be living on borrowed time.

As a darts league player in the women's team at the Golden Lion public house, Kidderminster, however, she put all her energies into a challenge from Mr George in aid of the hospital.

The larger-than-life national sportsman played for more than four hours in an event that attracted 100 people to Kidderminster Harriers Social Club.

After a round with Mr George she said: "It was a hard game and I lost hopelessly but it was really enjoyable and I had a very good time."

Kerry said she was waiting for a phone call that she realised might not come but was keeping cheerful and had her bags packed ready.

She said she had played darts since the age of 14 because there was a lot of interest in the game in her family and it was the only sport she could take part in without getting out of breath.

Chris Clee, landlady at the Golden Lion, said: "Considering the pressure she is under, Kerry has an awful lot of guts. She never shows her troubles and is always smiling. I have every admiration for her."