Teenager Luke Biggs was left fighting for his life after his body rejected a transplanted bowel.

But now the 13-year-old is just weeks away from returning to school thanks to pioneering surgery that gave him a second one.

Luke is one of a handful of people in the UK to have had two bowel transplants, and one of only two who are alive.

He has suffered from Hirschsprung’s disease, which causes constipation and bowel obstructions, since birth.

He had a bowel transplant in 2005, but his body rejected it four years later with doctors warning his parents in December 2009 he might not survive.

But after a six-month wait for another donor, he had a second transplant in October at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and was able to go home for Christmas. Now he is counting the days until he can go back to John Mason School in Abingdon, and start to lead a normal life.

Last night, his father Ian, 43, who cares for Luke with his wife Karen, 41, said: “All last Christmas we were really close to losing him. It was a struggle and it was a hard time for the family.

“This year, it was fantastic. Being home was his best Christmas present.”

Donors are hard to find as the bowel is not included on organ donor forms and the donor has to be living when it is transferred. Doctors have carried out five second bowel transplants on patients in the UK and just two are alive.

Luke, of Alexander Close, Abingdon, has to be in isolation for six months, which means he has to stay away from large crowds and indoors as much as possible.

He was nominated in the Jake Spicer Special Recognition category at the Oxfordshire Youth Awards, held at Oxford Town Hall last night.

Blackbird Leys teenager Jake lost his fight for life in July 2009, aged 15, following a heroic fight against bone cancer.

Mr Biggs said: “Luke’s second bowel seems to have taken, but it’s early days to get excited about it.

“Bowel transplants are very complex and new. We know there will be problems in the future, but we know we’ve to enjoy what we’ve got while we’ve got it.

“He is tremendous. It’s amazing how he puts up with all the time in hospital.

“He’s got a lot of power within him and the rest of us just wish we had a little bit of it. He inspires people to carry on when they’ve got their own small ailments.

“He is doing very well at the moment. He’s happier and looking forward to living a life he knows he can have. He knows there is a lot of life left to be lived.”

Luke, who has an older brother Adam, 16, said: “The second transplant has given me a new lease of life. I was pleased when I came out of hospital.

“It feels good that the doctors think I’m different, but I would rather not have to go to hospital and just be normal like everyone else. I try not to think what I’ve been through.

“It’s weird to know I have someone else’s bowel.”