She is taking the most terrible male body-builder steroids

Catherine's mother Jeanette Sharpe

But a hospital spokeswoman has told BBC News Online that Catherine would return on Monday for the second of between four and five days of preparatory treatment.

She added that Catherine's operation would probably be on 11 March.

Catherine's mother Jeanette explained: "We have been looking for a suitable donor for over a year and then we found one in the USA.

"We cannot afford to lose this donor."

Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live, Mrs Sharpe said her daughter would die without the operation.

She said: "Catherine's on borrowed time. She has to live with blood transfusions.

Operations postponed

"She is taking the most terrible male body-builder steroids, but you cannot stay on these forever because they damage the liver.

"If that happens, Catherine won't be a suitable candidate for transplant anyway."

The youngster's plight emerged when Diana, Princess of Wales Children's Hospital announced up to 500 supply staff would be cut and some operations postponed because of the deficit.

A hospital spokesman said the shortfall would rise to more than �4m unless urgent action was taken.