It's encouraging, but we know the heart can still be rejected and there's other things that can complicate it

Jon Slater, Sally's father

Her father, Jon Slater, said on Monday: "She said to doctors the word `'orange' and she has had a couple of sips.

"It is the first thing that she had taken herself not through an intravenous drip for nearly five weeks.

"It's encouraging, but we know the heart can still be rejected and there's other things that can complicate it.

"But generally the doctors say she is in as good a condition as they would have wanted at this time."

A donor organ was found after her parents launched a national appeal for help.

Hospital spokeswoman Sandra Besford said Sally had been weaned off her breathing machine over the weekend.

She said Sally, from Malham, North Yorkshire, was still in a poorly condition, but was improving all the time.

Her condition is still poorly but she is improving all the time

Sandra Besford, Freeman Hospital

Ms Besford said: "The medical team have been weaning her off her ventilator over the weekend, and this morning she is breathing by herself.

"Her parents today asked what she wanted to drink and she indicated orange juice. That is the first drink she has had since before the operation.

"There is still a long way to go in her recovery. Her condition is still poorly but she is improving all the time."

Sally fell ill nearly five weeks ago after contracting a mystery virus, which caused a condition called cardiomyopathy, which attacks the muscles in the heart.

She was transferred to the Freeman Hospital where surgeons first fitted an artificial heart to allow more time for a donor to be found.