Karen Mills: 'Lung transplant saved my life'

Four years ago, Karen was unsure if she'd make it to her 35th birthday without a double lung transplant.

Having been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis aged five, life had been an uphill struggle until on February 23 2014, Karen and her family's prayers were answered.

A suitable donor had been found.

Fast forward to the four year anniversary of her life-saving operation, and poignantly the subject of organ donation was brought into the spotlight.

MPs in the House of Commons backed a landmark bill that could save hundreds of lives every year by introducing an “opt-out” organ donation process.

Under current rules donors, or their families, must declare whether they would be happy for their organs to be given to someone else in the event of their death.

But a new proposed law would drastically change the rules meaning that people would have to, instead, declare if they do not want to be a donor.

The vote was passed with no opposition.

Naturally, Karen, 32, of Monkwick, Colchester, backs the bill but understands why some people might think differently.

She said: "There are no words that can express how grateful I am to my donor.

"One of the big things people worry about it is if they say they are happy to give their organs, that medical teams won't try as hard.

"But there is no one in the medical profession that behaves like that and it does give people of all ages a sense of life again.

"I am pretty certain I wouldn't still be here and there is no way I would have been able to change my job, I didn't have the energy to do that.

"Now I can just be 'normal'."

She added: "I think there are a lot of people that agree with it [donation] in principle but never get around to it or never talk to their family but would.

"It means for that bubble of people who wouldn't get around it to, their organs can be used."

Karen, who is married to Glen, was born with cystic fibrosis, which meant her lungs and digestive system became clogged with thick sticky mucus.

She was diagnosed during health checks at primary school.

Karen said she was "incredibly lucky" in having to wait just 17 days for her transplant but others can wait for years if they are fortunate enough to have a donor at all.

She underwent ten hours of surgery but her health has taken strides since.

"I was just existing beforehand.

"I was on 24-hour oxygen, on tube feeds overnight, I was always on IV.

"I can go about what a normal 30-something-year-old would do, it is not a military operation to go to Tesco, for example.

"We just moved house and recently got another dog. I have been able to professionally train and qualify for accounts so now I'm an accounting technician.

"It was something I considered in my early twenties but at the end of a working day I didn't have the energy to study."

Before her operation, Karen struggled to move around much due to lacking energy.

She has worked at Colchester General Hospital for some years but previously doing fewer hours as an administrator.

Last year the number of people on the organ transplant list in the UK peaked at 6,388 and 457 died whilst on the waiting list for an organ.

The British Heart Foundation has also backed the Bill.

Chief executive Simon Gillespie said: “There is a desperate shortage of organs in the UK and introducing an opt-out system in England will better reflect the views of the general public and give hope to those currently waiting for a transplant they so desperately need."

After passing its second reading, the bill will now be heavily scrutinised during the committee stage. It will then have to pass through the House of Lords before it can be brought into play.