A woman who made history as one of the youngest patients to have a heart-lung transplant has been re-united with the surgeon who performed the procedure, 35 years on.

Katie Mitchell, from Sidcup, had the life-changing surgery in 1987 at the age of 15, at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire.

When she was 11, Katie was diagnosed with with a rare condition called Eisenmenger Syndrome, which is a congenital heart disease where the pressure in the pulmonary arteries is high.

This causes an increased resistance to blood flow through the lungs and leads to irreversible lung damage and heart failure.

Prior to her transplant, she was so ill that she could barely climb the stairs and her lips, mouth and cheeks were blue.

However, Katie, now 50, said that she felt "immediately better" when waking up after her operation.

She is now one of the longest surviving patients in the world in history for this type of transplant and more than three decades later she has had a career, got married and had two kidney transplants.

Katie said: "Thanks to organ donation, I was given the gift of a normal life.

"It has allowed me to do normal things I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.

"I can’t really remember a time before I had a transplant because it was so long ago, other than the time immediately before when I was really very ill and I couldn’t walk up the stairs.

"It took me about 30 minutes to get up or down the stairs and then that was me for the day, I would stay there.

"I was told after my transplant I would feel better and I felt that immediately. I was pink rather than blue and could breathe so easily."

During a visit to the hospital in Cambridge on Thursday September 29, she was reunited with her surgeon, Professor John Wallwork, who is now chairman of Royal Papworth Hospital.

She said: "Without him I wouldn’t be here. I was so young and he came in to play hangman with me to stop me being worried.

"The medical team, the transplant team, my donor and their family - none of this would be possible without them.

"The generosity of one family at a difficult time has turned into a chance of life for me. I’ve always worked full-time and just got on with life.

She also saw members of the transplant team who have looked after her since her operation.

Professor Wallwork said that, at the time of the operation, there was not the experience to predict how long people may live.

He said: "We didn’t have survival data because it was so new, but we had people getting sicker and sicker and needed a transplant otherwise they would die.

"We can’t do any of the work without organ donors – they are selfless in turning tragedy into something good.

"Katie was coming towards the end of her life at the age of 15. To see her now this many years later having led a good life, not just having survived, is wonderful."

In addition to her heart-lung transplant at Papworth in 1987, Katie has also had two kidney transplants from deceased donors, in 1994 and 2015, at St Guy’s and St Thomas’, both in London.

Katie was joined at the reunion by her husband, Lex, and lifelong friend Samantha.

Dr Jasvir Parmar was also present - a consultant lung transplant physician at Royal Papworth who still looks after Katie today.

“Katie is an example of what is possible thanks to organ donation,” he said.

“We are urging people to think about being an organ donor when they die. The law has changed to opt-out, but families always get the final day.

“The most important thing is to talk to your loved ones and let them know your decision.

"These are difficult conversations but best had when you can think about it and consider it.”