THE parents of heart transplant girl Sally Slater have sent a message of support to the family of another youngster who is clinging to life in hospital.

Jon and Bridget Slater said they had joined the nation in praying for a donor to come forward to save the life of Abbey Cape, who is so poorly that she has been placed at the top of the European transplant priority list.

The nine-year-old girl, who is in London's Great Ormond Street Hospital after contracting a lethal infection, could have just ten days to live if a heart cannot be found.

Her story is an eerie reminder of the ordeal faced by the Slater family two years ago, when at one stage, Sally, of Kirkby Malham, North Yorkshire, was given just 36 hours to live.

Eight-year-old Sally, who has since made a full recovery, received a new heart in an 11th-hour operation following desperate pleas through the media by her parents.

Mr Slater said: "We went through the same dark time. Our thoughts are with Abbey and her mum and dad."

Abbey's mother, Marianne, and stepfather Darren Jackson, of Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, are keeping vigil at her bedside.