She had been critically ill with the bile duct condition biliary atresia and was in desperate need of a donor.

Being a donor is such an important thing because it saves people's lives

Clare Stratford

An organ was found after her parents made a national appeal for a donor on 4 June when Freya had just weeks to live.

On Wednesday, Freya finally left the hospital with her parents Clare and Paul.

Mrs Stratford said she was delighted to have her daughter home.

'Changed completely'

She added: "She has got a brand new personality.

"She has found her voice and her temper. Her hair and skin colour have changed and she is drinking milk out of a bottle for the first time in ages.

"She has changed completely. We have got our little girl back."

Dr Patrick McKiernan, a liver consultant at the hospital, said he was delighted with Freya's progress.

Freya is making good progress

"In the last 10 days she experienced a slight rejection (of the organ) which we anticipated and have managed to control with treatment.

He added: "She has responded well to treatment."

Freya was diagnosed as having the illness at birth and her parents discovered days before Christmas that she needed a liver transplant.

On Wednesday, Mrs Stratford stressed the importance of organ donation.

She said: "Being a donor is such an important thing because it saves people's lives.

"It is such a big decision to make and I can understand anyone who has to make that decision but it does work.

Cuddling her daughter, she smiled: "The proof is sitting here."

Beverley Cornforth, regional transplant educationalist for the West Midlands health authorities, said: "Freya would have been dead if she had not had her transplant.

"The fact that they are going home to have a normal family life is what it's all about - to give a normal quality of life to the patient and the family itself."

Freya will continue to undergo regular check-ups to make sure that her body does not reject her new liver.