But there is something she wants even more than a visit from Santa: a life-saving organ transplant.

Ava and more than 230 other children in the UK, urgently need this precious and ultimate gift of life if they are to see more Christmases.

There are currently 15 children waiting for an organ transplant in Scotland.

Ava’s doll is being hosted by her local hospital, Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital.

Now, in a bid to raise vital awareness of the need for more child organ donors, a powerful campaign has been launched that will see the children transformed into handmade dolls that will be placed across the country.

Each doll will wear a badge inviting people passing by to scan a QR code and hear stories of children waiting for transplants from across the UK.

Ava’s doll is being hosted by her local hospital, Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital.

It is hoped that the dolls and the real-life children’s stories will inspire more parents and families to consider organ donation and add themselves and their children onto the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Ava, aged four, has got a rare lung disease, Surfactant Protein-C deficiency and is one of 15 children in Scotland waiting for an organ transplant.

She has been in and out of hospital her whole life and needs help to breathe.

She lives with her family, including twin brother Aiden.

Her mum Tamara Chalmers, says: “Ava wears oxygen 24/7 and can’t come off it as it is keeping her alive. She doesn’t live the “normal” four year old life as she is restricted with her oxygen.

“Ava needs a double lung transplant to improve her quality of life, to be able to run around freely like a normal four year old and not have to worry about tubes getting pulled or caught, or not being long enough to do anything, or oxygen cylinders running out.

“Transplant isn’t a cure, it’s way to help improve someone’s quality of life to the fullest.

"Ava gets breathless very quickly, and cant keep up when running around with her brother and sister and cousin.

“We are so desperately hoping one day she gets the call and her quality of life can be so much better.

"As a family this has put so much strain and pressure on us, it’s totally broken us – we wish we could help our daughter.

“People need to talk more about child organ donation as it’s real, it’s happening to families like us.

"Nobody wants their child to die but you can save a child like Ava and make her quality of life the best it can.”

Currently, there is a significant lack of child organ donors resulting in children and their families waiting for a life-saving donation that tragically sometimes doesn’t come.

In 2021/22, just 52% of families who were approached about organ donation gave consent for their child’s organs to be donated.

This represented just 40 organ donors under the age of 18.

However, in cases where a child was already registered on the NHS Organ Donor Register, no family refused donation.

To address this imbalance, the new campaign, Waiting to Live, aims to encourage parents and families to consider organ donation and, it is hoped, register themselves and their children as donors.

Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital is supporting the Waiting to Live campaign and hosting Ava’s doll to raise awareness.

Dr Paul Gamble, Clinical Lead for Organ Donation for NHS Grampian, said: “We know there are hundreds of children waiting for an organ transplant, including 15 children in Scotland.

"Hearing Ava’s story really brings home the reality of how difficult it is for these children and their families.

“We are proud to support the Waiting to Live campaign and host Ava’s doll to raise awareness.

"We hope it encourages everyone to consider organ donation and for all members of the family. Organ donation save lives and what an amazing legacy this is to leave.”

‘Waiting to Live’ builds on the Consider This campaign which earlier this year used radio and newspaper adverts to make a powerful appeal on behalf of the parents of three-year-old Ralph who needs a multi-organ transplant.

Other children who feature campaign alongside Ralph and Ava, include seven-year-old Jack form Glasgow who is waiting for a heart transplant, Sophie (aged 10) who is waiting for lungs, as well as Uqbah (14) and Pablo (13) who both need kidneys and could also be saved by the generosity of a living adult donor.

The campaign is supported by NHS Blood and Transplant and has been spearheaded by WPP agencies Wunderman Thompson, with the help of the global communications agency BCW.

Angie Scales, Lead Nurse for Paediatric Organ Donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “For many children on the transplant waiting list, their only hope is the parent of another child saying 'yes' to organ donation at a time of immense sadness and personal grief.

"Yet, families tell us that agreeing to organ donation can also be a source of great comfort and pride.

“When organ donation becomes a possibility, it is often in very sudden or unexpected circumstances.

"When families have already had the opportunity to consider organ donation previously or know already it is something they support, it makes a difficult situation that bit easier.

“By encouraging more young people and their families to confirm their support for organ donation on the NHS Organ Donor Register, we hope to be able to save more lives of children, both today and in the future.”

To learn more about the children waiting for transplants, hear children’s stories and add yourself and your child/children to the NHS Organ Donor Register, use your phone to search for the Waiting to Live campaign.

And watch the campaign film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sDVRiA5vw4

Ava is part of new campaign to highlight children 'Waiting to Live'