The mother of a teenager who has undergone a life-changing lung transplant has paid tribute to the bravery of her "little star".

After two years on the transplant waiting list, Harrison Smith, 14, who has cystic fibrosis, finally got the call to have his operation.

He was rushed from his home in Larch Drive, Odsal, to London where he underwent six hours of surgery at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

His mum, Joann McQuillan, said: "He seems to be in great spirits after the operation. He looks a lot better and the colour is returning to his cheeks for the first time in ages.

"He has now got his whole life ahead of him. It's a great relief. I just can't explain the feeling.

"He is my little star and I am so proud of him because whatever he comes across, he fights it with 110 per cent commitment."

Now Miss McQuillan is calling for a change in the laws governing organ donation.

She said people should automatically go on the organ donor list at birth and should stay on that list unless they chose to opt out. At the moment, people have to opt in.

She said: "When you're gone, you don't need your body parts, but they can make such a difference to someone else's life."

Harrison now faces another week in intensive care, two weeks on a staffed ward and a week in accommodation with his family.

He may then be allowed to return home, where he will continue to take anti-organ-rejection drugs.

Miss McQuillan said of the rush to get Harrison to hospital: "We got the call at 10.30pm, so we put a few things in a bag and then we were off to Great Ormond Street for his transplant.

"He had been on the transplant waiting list for nearly two years and when you get the call, you just have to go. He had the transplant early in the morning and he is doing fantastically well.

"He came off the ventilator after six hours. He has had the chest drains removed and he has been sitting up in bed watching television."

Before the transplant, Harrison had to undergo physiotherapy twice a day, needed to use an inhaler and could not walk up a flight of stairs without being out of breath. He had to take regular medication and was on oxygen 24 hours a day. But he is now starting to look forward to returning full-time to school at Dixons City Academy.

Miss McQuillan said: "He loves school, so that will be really enjoyable for him."

The successful operation is the first piece of luck Harrison has enjoyed in a long time. In October, the Telegraph & Argus reported how the house-bound teenager was left devastated by burglars who stole his lifeline with the outside world.

The thieves struck at Harrison's home, taking his computer and his collection of computer games and consoles while he and his family slept.

They even made off with a bag containing a specialist oxygen mask worth £3,000 that he used daily, which they then dumped at the back of the house.

Harrison was said to be inconsolable about the loss of the computer, which he used to keep in touch with his friends through the MSN messaging website.

But just days later, he was smiling again after bosses at Bradford-based Sovereign Health Care decided to replace the stolen items after hearing of Harrison's plight in the T&A.

e-mail: will.kilner@bradford.newsquest.co.uk