A BABY who had a double organ transplant in his desperate fight for life has died.

Ethan Collins spent most of his life in Booth Hall Children’s Hospital, Manchester, after being born with his intestines outside his body.

The 17-month-old was given the intestine and liver he needed during a 10-hour operation at Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital last month.

But he lost his fight for life on Friday night after struggling against infections and complications which led his body to reject the organs.

He died in the arms of his mother, Donna Browne, with his father, Stuart Collins, and other family members present.

Last night his family spoke of their loss and told how proud they were of Ethan’s battling spirit.

Mr Collins, aged 30, said: “The operation went well but his body rejected the organs. They did everything they could to save him.

“It hasn’t really hit us yet that he is gone, he was an amazing child.

“He was always smiling, even up to the end, and we are very proud of the way he battled against everything.

“People who donate organs are wonderful. We were given another four weeks with Ethan, which we are very grateful for.”

His parents, who are from Whitefield, have recorded his journey on the social networking site, Facebook, with Ethan’s group attracting 60,000 members and prompting many people to become organ donors.

Now his family, many of whom are from Bolton, want to continue raising awareness of the importance of organ donation and a planned fundraising event will go ahead.

Mr Collins will lead a team of family and friends from Bolton in the Great Manchester Run on Sunday, May 17.

They will be running in aid of the charity, Live Life Then Give Life, which promotes organ donation, and have already raised more than £2,300. A fundraising event will take place at Hardy Hall in Little Lever that evening.

Anyone who would like to sponsor the runners should visit justgiving.com/ethancollins.

To find out more about organ donation visit uktransplant.org.uk or contact 0300 123 23 23.