A seriously ill toddler had her life saved after a selfless family decided to donate their child's heart after a tragedy. 

Beatrix Archbold was only 15 months old when the previously healthy little girl was taken ill - after spending nearly half of her life hooked up to a machine known as a mechanical heart in Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, and back to her "full of beans" self.

Now, Bea's parents Terry and Cheryl Archbold, from Burnopfield, County Durham, have asked more of the public to consider organ donation after their death. 

Terry, a sergeant with Durham Constabulary, has advocated for organ and blood donation, as well as increased access to defibrillators, since Bea was taken ill. 

The Northern Echo: Bea Archbold. Bea Archbold. (Image: Sarah Caldecott)Read more: Bradley Wiggins meets Burnopfield heart transplant survivor

The whole family had been unexpectedly thrown into the fray of organ transplants when Bea fell seriously ill in May 2022, when she was only 15 months old. The previously healthy baby had to undergo major surgery, where it was discovered that she was suffering from heart failure. 

Dad Terry said: "Bea was fit and healthy up until the age of 15 months when she suddenly went into heart failure.

"She had an emergency admission into the Freeman in Newcastle where she was diagnosed with a condition called dilated cardiomyopathy - an enlarged heart that was stopping normal functioning."

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Following her admission to hospital, Bea suffered a cardiac arrest, and "was lost for a few minutes".

Terry said: "The team saved her, but we were faced with the choice of not resuscitating if she had another cardiac arrest, or emergency surgery to connect her to a machine called a Berlin heart.

"Tubes were stitched onto her heart, which comes out of her body and connects onto a machine, which takes over and functions as her heart."

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With her new mechanical heart, Bea was unable to come home, or even leave the hospital, until she underwent a successful heart transplant. In total, the now-two-year-old spent 14 months living in the ward at the Freeman, until the day that her "gift of life" came.

Another family - who had lost their young child - chose the organ donation route. The heart proved to be a match for Bea, and saved her life, as well as the lives of other children awaiting organ transplants across the country.

Since Bea's heart transplant in June of this year, the change that the family has seen in Bea has been "absolutely unbelievable". 

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"As is evident today - she's just full of beans, and so energetic," Terry says, as Bea winds between police officers asking them to tie a pink, heart-shaped balloon onto her wrist. 

For many parents and children, the wait for a life-saving organ is a long one. As nurse and organ donation coordinator, Rachel Eason explained  "children often wait longer than adults", as the proportions of the donated organ need to be right, in addition to being bloody type compatible. 

"There is a far smaller proportion of children passing away and far fewer organs in the system - it's really important that more families consider organ donation," she said. 

The longer that children wait for a compatible organ "the lesser the chances of survival" are. There are "definitely" children who die because they do not get organs in time. 

The Northern Echo: Bea, with parents Terry and Cheryl, and staff from Durham Police and the North East Ambulance

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Terry said: "The Durham Police, North East Ambulance Service and Regional NHS have come togetehr to help raise awareness of organ donation, through Organ Donation Week, which starts on Monday."

Urging people to talk more about organ donation, Terry added: "The key question for people to think about is whether they would accept a donated organ to save a loved one or to save your child. If the answer is yes, would you give that same gift of life to save several others?"

Currently, there are just over 240 kids who are awaiting a transplant, but many will not be as lucky as Bea, and the "gift of life" will never come. In 2021-22, there were only 40 organ donors under 18.

Visit organdonation.nhs.uk to find out more.