A DESPERATELY ill baby will spend his first Christmas in hospital following a transplant operation to save his life.

Doctors say Lennox Nicholson still has a long way to go before he is completely out of danger, but they are happy with his progress.

Lennox was moved out of the intensive care unit on Thursday and on to a children's ward at the worldfamous St James' University Hospital, in Leeds.

The youngster had only days to live after being born with an incurable bile duct condition.

Doctors told his parents, Simon Nicholson and Amy Robinson, from Guisborough, east Cleveland, that if a new liver could not be found, Lennox would die on Christmas Eve.

On Tuesday, the youngster was given a chance of life when a donor liver became available and Lennox was immediately taken into theatre for the ten-hour operation.

That evening, doctors gave Lennox's parents the news they had been waiting for and told them the surgery had been a success.

But they warned that the days following the operation would be crucial.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the hospital said Lennox "remained stable".

Mark Stringer, consultant paediatric surgeon who carried out the operation, said: "The team and I once again would like to extend our gratitude to the donor's family. They have suffered a very personal tragedy, but Lennox is alive thanks to their immense courage and generosity.

"Everyone involved in caring for Lennox is encouraged by his current progress. However, we are always cautious after such a major operation - particularly as Lennox was so sick prior to the surgery.

"Because he was so ill, he still has a long way to go and we expect him to remain in hospital for at least another three to four weeks."