HEART swap grandfather Vincent Hodkinson was today celebrating the seventh anniversary of his life-saving transplant.

Vincent, 56, who lives in Accrington, received his new heart in an operation at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester.

Even though he has been dogged by unrelated ailments including arthritis and salmonella poisoning since undergoing the surgery, Vincent just keeps smiling through.

He said: "Overall, my quality of life is a whole lot better - and it's all down to the doctors and nurses at Wythenshawe.

"Up until six month ago I was able to go swimming but then I got arthritis and had to ease off."

Vincent, a former dyehouse worker, added: "No matter what happens to me, I get 100 per cent back-up from Wythenshawe. Even after all this time, they just can't do enough for me."

Vincent, who had suffered a series of heart attacks, was with his son watching Burnley play at Turf Moor when a bleeper called him to the hospital on a Saturday afternoon in 1990. More than 350 people have received either new hearts, a single lung or a set of heart and lungs since the hospital launched its NW New Heart-New Start appeal ten year ago to help provide new organs for patients across the North West and North Wales.

Since then it has raised funds towards the cost of building a purpose-designed transplant centre, which opened in 1993, and bungalows where patients can convalesce with their families.

The appeal has now set itself a Mission 2000 fund-raising target to raise £300,000 a year for the next three years so extra transplants can be performed over and above those funded by the Government.

It also aims to develop a dedicated research programme based on the centre's own laboratory.

Appeal manager Ann Stuart said: "Cases like Vincent's emphasise the continuing need for donor organs.

"Without the generosity of donor families, transplant operations would simply not be possible."

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