A TODDLER who was the first baby in the UK to have a blood cord transplant has celebrated his second birthday.

George Young was born with a rare syndrome affecting his immune system and had been given only months to live when he had the transplant last year, using blood from the umbilical cord and placenta of a newborn baby.

Even after the operation, doctors gave him only a 50/50 chance of survival and, for nearly a year after the treatment, he had to live in a sterile bubble while his immune system recharged.

But at the weekend, his hospital experiences were a distant memory as he played at his birthday party.

His mother, Emma, 27, said: "We never imagined he'd be able to play like the other children. He's doing so well and we're so proud of him.

"If it wasn't for the doctors and nurses at Newcastle General Hospital, George would not have made it and we're really grateful to them."

George went home from the bubble unit late last year and has since started going to nursery near his home in Cruddas Park, Newcastle.

His operation was the first of its kind in the UK and only the fourth in the world.

His mother said: "We still go to the hospital every week, but he's making really good progress."