A CRAVEN woman who underwent a double lung transplant last week has died in hospital.

Doctors said the six-hour operation to remove Katherine Ireland's lungs and replace them with a pair from a donor had gone extremely well.

But 21-year-old Katherine died in Newcastle's Freeman Hospital on Tuesday afternoon following complications.

Now her family hope her organs can be used to give others a better life.

Speaking on behalf of her parents Jan and David, her aunt Yolande Ingham told the Herald that Katherine had suffered two seizures as a result of abscesses on her brain.

To carry out the transplant, surgeons had to de-activate her immune system to reduce the risk of her body rejecting the new lungs.

But this left her open to other infections, including complications caused by the abscesses.

"Doctors told us that Katherine was doing wonderfully and it was remarkable for anyone to do so well after such a transplant," said Mrs Ingham.

"But these abscesses could have been there for a long time, we just don't know."

Katherine's family was expected to return home to Cononley this week after being with their daughter throughout her time in hospital.

They hope her organs can be used to help others live a better life and are talking to doctors about the possibility of donating them for transplants.

"They are sure that this is what Katherine would have wanted," added Mrs Ingham.

Katherine suffered from cystic fibrosis, which affected her lungs' ability to absorb oxygen into her body.

This left her out of breath and she spent many hours each day hooked up to an oxygen bottle.

She was being cared for by staff at Seacroft Hospital near Leeds and had seen many of her friends die in hospital waiting for a transplant.

The family got a call last week to tell them a suitable donor had been found and she was rushed up to Newcastle.

The Ireland family have always been ardent campaigners for the carrying of donor cards and fundraisers for Seacroft Hospital.

They hoped Katherine's story would encourage people to carry the card and help other people after their deaths.

Last year, Katherine took part in a Herald campaign to urge people to add their names to a national donors' register.

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