A NORTHWICH infant diagnosed with a rare liver disease will have to wait more than three months for an emergency life-saving operation.

Baby Kieran Cooper, who is just 14 weeks old, must wait until he is at least six or seven months of age before doctors can carry out a liver transplant that is needed to save his life.

Kieran's parents, John and Kerry, were told the news that their son has biliary atresia - a condition that affects one in 15,000 children - after being referred to Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Kerry, who has been forced to give up her job as a shop assistant in order to give Kieran the full-time care he needs, said the news was a complete shock.

"It's like someone has just gone bang," she said.

"Everything is fine and then your whole life gets turned upside down."

The Cooper family first became aware of Kieran's condition after taking him to see their GP because he was jaundiced at five weeks old.

"We want to tell parents to get their baby checked out as soon as possible with jaundice," said Kerry, of Worthing Street.

"While it wouldn't have changed Kieran's condition, he could have been receiving treatment much earlier if we had been to see the doctor."

A spokeswoman for Birmingham Children's Hospital said: "While we don't want parents to panic, we would advise they go and see their GP if they are worried that their child has had jaundice for a couple of weeks."

Although Kieran's condition is being monitored, a recent operation to remove the bile that is poisoning his liver hasn't been successful, meaning a transplant is the only likely treatment.

Hopes of a successful transplant for Kieran however are high, as the BCH has specialised in transplant work using cut down livers rather than using full organs from smaller children.

The spokeswoman added: "There is a shortage of donors for small children and babies so this treatment can enable a larger donor to fit smaller babies, meaning we can carry out more transplants."