COURAGEOUS teenager Blake Calverley is braving himself for a heart transplant as doctors bid to keep him alive.

The 18-year-old from Accrington, who has a five-inch defibrillator fitted under his skin, has been told he will need a new heart ‘as soon as possible’.

He suffers from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – a fatal condition which means his heart can stop at any point – as happened to Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba during an FA Cup tie last year.

Blake endured a difficult few days at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester last week, where medics carried out several tests to discover the extent to which his organs were coping with the condition.

Tearful mum Dawn, 47, of Sandy Lane, said: “They have told us that Blake needs a heart transplant as soon as possible and he’s been put on the donor register.

“It’s just so hard to take it all in.

“When I’m listening to the doctors I’m thinking I need to try and be brave for Blake, but it’s so hard.

“He keeps saying to me ‘I’m scared mum’ and I’m telling him he has to stay strong. We hope they can find a heart for him.”

Blake, who has been forced to give up football and riding his bike, said: “I’m really scared about a transplant but it should help in the long run. I can’t do anything at the moment so I do want to go ahead with it.”

As reported in the Lancashire Telegraph in March, the former St Christopher’s Sixth Form pupil has had a SICD defibrillator fitted to his side, which releases an electrical charge if it detects a heart malfunction.

It is believed he is one of only two people in the UK with the device, which is stronger than the more common implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

But Blake’s condition, which means his heart struggles to pump blood around his body due to a thickening of the organ’s muscular wall, has also caused him to develop a liver condition called Danon disease.

This weakens the muscles and sufferers do not usually live beyond the age of 19.

Dr Tom Smith, the Lancashire Telegraph’s health columnist, said: “Once he’s had the heart transplant Blake should feel instantly better. It will be tremendous and like a new life, as things are probably very limited for him at the moment.”

Blake, who became a father in March to baby Logan, is due back at Wythenshawe this week to find out when the procedure could take place.

He and Dawn, who is a cousin of Blackburn Rovers midfielder David Dunn, have already pleaded with others to join the organ donation register.