Courtney Young waited five years for a lifesaving kidney and pancreas transplant

For five years Courtney Young’s world was a hospital room and her bedroom – now thanks to a lifesaving double organ transplant she is living a life she never thought possible.

Courtney Young was 15 when she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and she never imagined it would leave her on the verge of death for five years.

Ms Young, from Brisbane, celebrated her 36th birthday in December – a feat that was only possible due to a lifesaving kidney and pancreas transplant in July 2020.

Quest Community News is partnering with Donate Life QLD to urge people to make registering as an organ donor one of their New Year’s resolutions.

It takes 60 seconds and can be doneright hereon your smartphone, tablet or computer.

She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a teen but serious complications quickly developed.

Courtney Young is able to do things she never thought possible thanks to a double organ transplant. Picture: John Gass

Ms Young was taking four insulin injections a day but it didn’t stop her having eight ‘hypos’ (hypoglycaemic episodes) a day.

It got to a point where she couldn’t be left alone.

“I went grocery shopping once and woke up to paramedics, I’d collapsed in the carpark,” Ms Young said.

“I took my dog to puppy preschool and woke up in an ambulance.

“Once I put my lunch in the oven and my friend found me on the kitchen floor.”

When she turned 30 the problems escalated and affected her kidney.

She was put on dialysis.

“Dialysis was a never ending rollercoaster, with a lot of downs. It was pretty much waking up, going to the hospital and spending my day there, coming home and going to bed,” Ms Young said.

“For two-and-a-half years I didn’t walk much and my days were consumed with lying around feeling sick and unwell with headaches, nausea, hypos and high blood pressure.

“It was a struggle to survive, every day.”

Courtney Young waited 5 years to be saved by her donor after battling Type 1 diabetes for 20 years. Picture: John Gass

Ms Young said it was hope that kept her going every day for five years until she got the phone call – a moment she will never forget.

“It was 6.45am when I got call saying they had found a match.” she said. “My heart just dropped, I ran to my mum who was in the shower and yelled we have the call.”

Her whole world changed that day.

“I’m back to being able to see my friends and family, go on days out shopping or to the beach, I hadn’t been swimming in three years,” Ms Young said.

Fast Facts

Queensland Donor Statistics

• 86 Queenslanders who died last year became organ donors, saving the lives of 253 Australians.
• Challenges associated with COVID-19 resulted in small declines in both the number of transplant recipients Qlders saved (-16%) and donors (-19%) in Queensland.
• Staff worked exhaustively to develop new ways of delivering compassionate end-of-life care, and to minimise the disruption to the organ transplant program.
• The proportion of Qld families who consented to organ donation last year remained steady at 62%.
• 419 Queenslanders donated their eyes and 102 donated tissue providing lifechanging procedures to recipients.
  
  

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Queensland Registration Statistics

• Almost 40,000 Queenslanders registered as potential organ donors in 2020. This was down from 48,900 in 2019.
  
  
• There are now 1.2M Queenslanders on the Australian Organ Donor Register (AODR).
  
  
• 7 in 10 Qlders support donation, but less than 1 in 3 are actually registered. We need to close this gap!
  
  
• 9 out of 10 families proceed with donation when their loved one is registered. This drops to 4 out of 10 when family don't know their loved ones wishes.
  
  
• Registration is easy and takes less than a minute at www.donatelife.gov.au with your Medicare Card number.

 

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National Donor Statistics

• 463 deceased organ donors saved the lives of 1270 Australians in 2020.
  
  
• Despite the disruption of COVID-safe restrictions and the six-week suspension of kidney transplantation, the overall decline in people receiving their organ transplants was 12%. The number of donors decreased by 16%.
  
  
• When asked to donate, around 58% of families said 'yes' to donation.
  
  
• The long-term trend for organ donation continues to be one of growth.

“I can be left alone without people being worried I’m going to fall into a coma and die.”

It is the first time in 20 years Ms Young has been independent and she is making the most of every single day.

She hasn’t had to use insulin since the operation, is just 12 months away from completing her degree in social work and even went on her first solo holiday.

“I feel like a big child, seeing everything with fresh eyes. Doing things I always dreamt I could do that are only possible because of my donor,” Ms Young said.

Organ donation is something Ms Young had considered before her situation became dire.

In 2009 she held a party and actually handed out organ donation information to all the guests.

“I had no idea that one day I’d need a double organ transplant,” she said.

“It is not about death, it is about giving life. I’d encourage everyone to chat with their family so if something happens you can make the decision and maybe chance the lives of people who never thought they would get that opportunity.

“This whole year is a year I wouldn’t have had were it not for my donor.”

It takes just 60 seconds to register as an organ donor.

To register visit: https://www.donatelife.gov.au/join-register