Yin-ting has been diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, with less than 10 per cent of her heart functioning properly. The teenager - who has O-positive blood, is 1.6m tall and weighs 37kg - will die without an immediate transplant.

By evening, the school had gathered more than 1,000 signatures and 1,000 paper cranes and hearts. The items were delivered by the school's principal, Francis Wong Bing-kwan, who drove four student representatives to Grantham Hospital in Aberdeen to visit Yin-ting.

'The gesture came from the hearts of every student and teacher. We hope she will continue to fight and that she can come back to join us soon,' said student council head Chris Ng Chi-fan, 18.

A spokesman for the hospital said Yin-ting's condition remained very serious. 'If there is no suitable heart transplant, her chance of survival will be slim. She is now relying on continuous intravenous infusion of two supporting medicines to maintain the function of her heart and she is receiving close monitoring in the high-dependency unit,' he said.

The cause of the disease was still unknown despite all the laboratory tests and examinations. 'The disease is rare in Hong Kong,' he said.

Yin-ting's mother, Lee Pui-kwan, thanked the public and friends for their concern. She said her daughter was delighted to receive the paper hearts and cranes and was reading every message.

However, Ms Lee also asked people who wanted to see Yin-ting to send messages and cards instead, as too many visits can be overwhelming.