KELLY Snow was facing certain death before a lifesaving transplant at the eleventh hour saved her life.

Kelly, 43, from Thundersley waited an astonishing seven years before she was given a kidney transplant during which time her own kidney had been badly damaged by the type 1 diabetes she had developed as a child.

Now she is backing a national call for more people to carry donor cards.

Kelly said: “I was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of eight. It was the diabetes which caused the damage to my kidneys. I waited seven years before I finally got a transplant in 2003 by which time I was pretty much on death’s door. I was supposed to have a pancreas transplant at the same time but because of difficulties during my operation because of my condition they couldn’t do it.

“I had the pancreas transplant in 2005 to prevent my new kidney being damaged by the diabetes again.”

The transplants have transformed Kelly’s life. She has gone from being too week to work to starting up her own business and enjoying life once more.

She said: “I did an office job in London but I wasn’t feeling great and was blaming it on everything except my kidneys. I became absolutely exhausted with big bags under my eyes and I was dizzy and my skin started to go yellow. Then I developed a huge problem with my eyesight.

“I used to avoid doctors like the plague but when my eyes bled I finally booked an appointment with an optician. She nearly had a coronary when she looked at the back of my eyes. She managed to get me a private appointment but I haemorrhaged and it damaged my eyes for a long time. Since the transplants it’s got better.”

Kelly has shared her experience to highlight a big waiting list for transplants in Essex and a new national campaign for donors.

NHS Blood and Transplant (cor) has revealed there are 131 people on the waiting for a transplant in Essex. Of those 32 have been waiting longer than two years and six have been waiting longer than five years.

Urging people to consider becoming donors, Kelly said: “I’ve had some ups and downs since my transplants but my life is so much better. I’m starting my own business and a hypnotherapist, life coach and counsellor to give something back and I can ride horses again which is my passion in life.

“Gratitude is not the word for it. Without my donors I wouldn’t be here. It’s a massive thing to do for someone. I would urge people to carry donor cards and to talk to their families. People end up not speaking about their wishes and their families aren’t prepared when someone comes to ask about donating body parts.

“The two incredibly selfless people that made the decision to carry a donor card have given me a life I almost lost at 31 years old. A life full of incredible people, animals (including my wonderful rescue dog Jess) and experiences. I love every second of life and always have. So the fact they have allowed me a life full of such happy times I can't put into words how that feels.

“I hope now to set up my own business using my therapeutic skills and qualifications to help anyone struggling to live a full, happy and healthy life. And as a tribute to these two incredible souls. We only get one shot at this life. Make yours count Hannah Perry is the Specialist Nurse for transplants at Southend Hospital and it is her job to talk to patients relatives about donation following the death of a loved one and to ensure the donor’s rights and needs are catered for.

She said: “It is normally A&E or intensive care staff who call to say a patient has signs of being brain dead or that they are not going to continue treatment. I will review patient notes to make sure there are no contraindication for donation. If a family approves we have to ask the same questions as when a person gives blood. Then I ensure the patient is being cared for and try to find matches.”

If all goes well a team of specialist surgeons will be dispatched to Southend from either Addenbrookes or Papworth Hospitals.

Campaign to attract more donors

NHS Blood and Transplant has launched a new campaign - The Wait - a 14 hour film showing a day in the life of a patient waiting for an organ The numbers waiting in Essex show only a small part of the UK picture. Of the almost 7,000 patients currently on the UK’s transplant waiting list, 30 per cent have been waiting more than two years. More than 500 of them have been waiting longer than five years – that’s over 1,800 days each.

Almost 49,000 people in the UK have endured the wait for an organ transplant in the last 10 years and over 6,000, including 270 children, have died before receiving the transplant they desperately needed. In Essex 47 people died between April 2011 and November 2015 because of the shortage of organs.

The Wait campaign will highlight the true scale of the donor organ shortage.

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register please go to organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23 – Now is the #TimeToSign.