Britain’s first liver transplant for bowel cancer has been deemed a success.

The first patient in the UK with advanced bowel cancer to receive a liver transplant after the disease broke out has said she has been given a “second chance at life”.

Bianca Perea, a 32-year-old trainee solicitor from Wigan, Greater Manchester, had the first operation in the summer of 2024.

Her liver transplant was described as a huge success, meaning that after other treatments including targeted drug therapy, chemotherapy and surgery, Ms Pariya is now cancer-free.

She said: “To walk away from being told I have so little time to live now to be cancer free is the greatest gift.”

Ms Peria was 29 when she first visited her GP after feeling constipated and bloated.

After being referred to hospital for tests, he was given the devastating news in November 2021 that he had stage four bowel cancer, which had spread to all eight lobes of his liver.

She said: “Actually I haven’t had any bad symptoms at all. I’ve noticed a change in my bowel habits and a bit of bloating and stomach pain.”

Ms Perea was referred to a local treatment center in Wigan at Christie NHS Foundation Trust in early December 2021.

There, he underwent 37 rounds of a targeted drug called panitumumab, as well as chemotherapy for two and a half years.

She had an excellent response to treatment, which meant she could undergo surgery to remove her bowel tumor in May 2023.

However, scans revealed that there were still tumors in her liver, which could not be removed.

Nevertheless, because his response to chemotherapy was so good, and his colon cancer was apparently gone, doctors began considering a liver transplant.

Ms Pariya was put on the transplant list in February 2024.

A match was found and he received his new liver at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

He said: “Within four weeks of going under the knife, I was able to run and walk the family dogs, it was really incredible.

“I have been given a second chance at life and I am going to grab it with both hands. I am very grateful to the family who agreed to donate their loved one’s liver.”

She added that it is a “blessing” that her donor has not only helped her but is also a part of medical history.

She said she is looking forward to vacationing this year and working on improving her fitness.

“My liver is doing really well,” she said.

“I take tests on it, and I’ve just had my second scan and it’s all clear, so that’s really good.”

Dr Kalina Marty, who was Ms Perea’s oncologist at The Christie, said: “It’s amazing to see Bianca have such a positive result. It is exciting.

“When we looked at the tumor cells in his liver after they were removed, they were not active.

“That’s great news, and we hope it means the cancer won’t come back.”

He added that while a liver transplant “will not be an option for everyone”, the success of Ms Peria’s treatment gave others “more hope”.

Dr Marty added: “Modern bowel cancer is complex and there are many different types of disease, so what works for one person may not work for another.

“As a result, it is important that we continue to develop new treatments.”

Dr Ian Rowe, Honorary Consultant Hepatologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “I am delighted that Bianca has responded so well to treatment and is now cancer free.

“Of course we owe it to the organ donor’s family – as Bianca’s case illustrates, organ donation saves lives.”

However, he also struck a note of caution.

“I think hope is important but the reality is that it will be a cure for a small proportion of people.

“It’s going to be the right thing for those people, and we think it’s going to work well.

“The number of people who have been transplanted like this is still very small internationally so we are all still learning about what the rules should be.

“Over time they will change and we will learn which patients will do better so we can better select those people.”

A spokesman for NHS Blood and Transplant said: “Waiting lists for organ transplants are the highest they have been in a decade.”

He said organ donation “saves lives” and described donors and their families as “truly inspirational”.

He said he hoped “Bianca’s life-changing story of donation will encourage people to confirm their decision to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register – this means your family will be convinced that you want to be an organ donor.”