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A teenage boy who suffered a fatal asthma attack saved the lives of four other people after donating his organs, his family said today.

Michael McCarthy, 16, was on his way to bed when he collapsed after suffering a severe asthma attack, telling his grandfather: “I can’t breathe, Granddad, I can’t breathe.”

His mother and grandfather performed emergency CPR on him until paramedics could take over at their home in Braintree, Essex.

The “loving” teenager, who turned 16 in August, was taken to a London hospital where he was on life support but died five days later.

He donated his heart, pancreas, kidneys and liver to be used to save the lives of others after his death in November.

The car fanatic, who saved up money he earned as a building apprentice to buy quadbikes and dreamed of becoming a mechanic, had joined the organ register when he applied for his provisional driving licence.

He told his father at the time: “If I die my soul is going to Heaven but my organs will live on.”

His grandfather Michael McCarthy, 59, said: “It makes me feel good, it’s a marvellous thing what he has done. It’s a miracle he has managed to save so many lives.”

His family told how Michael had a near-fatal asthma attack three years ago and was taken to hospital in an East Anglian Air Ambulance piloted by Prince William.

Since then his parents Michael, 37, and Kathleen McCarthy, 35, “lived in fear” that he could suffer another serious attack.

On the night he suffered his fatal attack, Michael told his father he would see him for work early, that he loved him and had taken his medicine before closing his bedroom door.

Twenty minutes later Michael suffered the attack. His nebuliser, asthma pumps and EpiPen could not save him.

His father said: “I think he knew how serious his condition was but he kept everything inside not to worry me and his mother. Some nights I would just stay up and watch him breathing as he slept. He was a beautiful boy.

“His asthma was sharp and gave no warning but he wanted to live like a normal teenager and go out with the lads. I was like his brother as well as his father. My heart is broken.”

Michael’s sister Kaitlyn, 17, said: “He was always looking out for me. We were so close, we did everything together. We would stay up chatting when my parents were asleep. I will miss him terribly. He lived his life to the full.”​