There is only one thing Jade Wood's mum wants for her daughter this Christmas - the chance for her to live a normal life.

Seven-year-old Jade suffers from a rare disease which means both her kidneys have failed. Now she has been placed on the organ transplant list in the hope a donor can save her life.

Her mother Sammy McMillan, 25, of Falkland Road, Ravenscliffe, Bradford, pictured here with Jade, said: "The thing we want most for Christmas is a new kidney for Jade.

"We have been given a pager so now it is just a case of waiting. We know it could take months or even years."

Until a donor is found, Jade, a pupil at Holybrook Primary School in Greengates, must travel to St James's Hospital, Leeds, three times a week to have life-saving dialysis.

The treatment takes two and a half hours each time and means that Jade has to miss three days of school a week and put up with tubes in her stomach all the time.

It also means she has to stick to a diet and avoid foods which most children love, such as crisps, chips and chocolate.

"She copes very well, really," said Sammy, who has two other children, Richard aged six and Korin, five. "Sometimes she doesn't want to go, she just doesn't like doing it.

"I have tried to explain it to her but it is hard for a seven-year-old to understand. She knows she has two bad kidneys and she knows where her new kidney is going to go."

Jade first began to show signs of being ill when at the age of three her belly and face began to swell. Her mother took her to the GP who referred her to St Luke's Hospital, Bradford, for tests and it was discovered she had a condition called nephrotic syndrome, which means that protein was leaking out of her tissues, making her swell.

Jade was put on steroids to control the condition and doctors told the family she would probably grow out of it.

However, at the age of six Jade's stomach swelled so much she suffered a hernia and had to undergo an operation.

A biopsy later revealed she had developed a more serious form of the condition which resulted in total kidney failure. Consultant paediatric nephrologist, Maggie Fitz-patrick, who is treating Jade at St James's, said: "This is a rare and serious form of the disease which has ended up in kidney failure. Over the last five to six years I have seen about a dozen cases.

"The dialysis is keeping her alive and she needs a transplant. Children wait on average two years for a donor organ and some children wait up to five years.

"This is unacceptable, it is a long time to be on dialysis for a child. It can fundamentally affect the quality of their life."

Anyone who wants to become a donor should contact the Organ Donation Literature Line on 0845-6060400, or register on line at www.uktransplant.org.uk