A CHARITY is planning to transform patients born with a heart condition into works of art for a new photo exhibition to shine a light on congenital heart disease (CHD).

The Somerville Foundation is calling out for eight adults with CHD to bare their scars from life saving heart surgery in celebration of life for the special exhibition.

The exhibition, called Scarred FOR Life, is to be held at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in February next year.

The idea for the project came from three friends with CHD, Dr Liza Morton, who is also Scottish campaign manager for The Somerville Foundation, Jenny Kumar and Evening Times reporter Caroline Wilson.

They wanted to raise awareness of how the often invisible condition, which affects 1 in 125 babies born each year, impacts on adult life.

Dr Morton said: "This campaign is about empowerment and knowledge.

"We want to empower the estimated 16,500 adults with CHD in Scotland to share their story and let them know about the charity and how it can support them as well as spread the word about this condition, which is the most common complex birth defect and has no cure.

"The idea is to change the perception that scars should be hidden away and turn them into a celebration of life. The fact is that many people with CHD have 'scars', whether we've had heart surgery or not. In the 1940s, only 20 per cent of infants born with a heart condition survived, whereas around 90 per cent are now reaching adulthood. While this is a success story of modern medicine, with many cases pioneered here in Scotland, many of those adults require unique, lifelong care and support."

Adults with CHD who are interested in taking part are encouraged to share the story behind their scar before the deadline of Friday 21 November 2014 by visiting scarredforlife.org.uk