OUTRAGED heart-swap grandfather Bernard Dunleavy has voiced fears for his future in the light of threats to close the region's top transplant centre.

Mr Dunleavy, a former business studies lecturer at Bolton College, has bitterly attacked moves to shut the centre at Wythenshawe Hospital.

The 64-year-old was given a new heart in a life-saving transplant operation eight years ago.

But he still has to make six-weekly visits to the south Manchester hospital -- as do thousands of patients in Bolton and Bury.

Mr Dunleavy said Government plans to shut the centre would have a "devastating" effect on his life, forcing him to travel to the transplant centre at Birmingham.

Health Ministers are proposing to reduce the number of UK transplant centres from six to four because of falling donor numbers.

Three have already been told their future is assured -- yet Wythenshawe is faced with a 'battle' with Birmingham and Sheffield for the final fourth place.

Mr Dunleavy, who lives in Bury and celebrates his "eighth birthday" this weekend, said: "It is unthinkable that I will have to travel to Birmingham every six weeks. It will be hard. You know the staff and feel comfortable with them. That's important and gives you a terrific sense of security.

"If there's a medical problem we are often told to be at the hospital in a couple of hours or less. If we had to travel to the Midlands that could be impossible.

"There would be times when we just would not make it in time and the consequences of that could be very serious."

In its fight for survival, the hospital's New Heart New Start Appeal has mounted an SOS poster campaign, inviting recipients in the six million catchment area and MPs to lend their support.

Appeal manager Ann Stuart said: "As far as heart and lung transplantation is concerned, Wythenshawe is the local hospital for some six million people.

"If this centre were forced to close, recipients and future patients would have to travel long distances and through this poster campaign we hope to impress upon all the MPs in the region the problems, distress and health risks that could cause.

"The dedicated Transplant Centre at Wythenshawe is one of the most successful in the world and it would be unthinkable that it could be shut down.