Cobram’s Krishna Manser is celebrating five years since she received the double organ transplant that saved her life — but her story began some 43 years earlier.
At just 12 months old, Ms Manser was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
“My mum found me in a coma at the end of my cot and I got airlifted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital from where we lived in Mount Gambier,” she said.
“The doctors didn’t know what was wrong with me because back then young people didn’t get diabetes, let alone babies.”
Ms Manser and her family lived in Mount Gambier for four years before returning to Cobram, where she was born.
Across the years, Ms Manser has struggled with complications from diabetes.
In 2011, she was told her kidneys were failing and she would need an organ transplant.
“I was approved to go on the organ waiting list in 2014 and commenced dialysis in December 2015,” she said.
“About 12 months before the transplant, I was diagnosed with severe neuropathy in my legs due to the long-term diabetes damaging the nerves.
“I became so sick, it was suggested that I do a will and sign over power of attorney to my family and partner in case they needed to make medical decisions on my behalf.
“I was very lucky to receive the transplant when I did, as I had already told my mum that I felt as if my body was shutting down and I was going to pass away.”
At 44 years old, Ms Manser received a kidney and pancreas transplant in 2016 at the Monash Medical Centre in Clayton.
“The day of the surgery, the surgeons showed me the organs before I was anaesthetised, it’s something that I will never forget.”
Ms Manser had to manage a range of complications after the transplant, including diabetic foot ulcers that became infected and spread to her bones, which almost cost her leg.
According to Ms Manser, specialists advise that a combined kidney and pancreas can last about 11 years after transplant.
“I have spoken to other people and their organs have lasted up to 27 years, it all depends how you take care of your body,” she said.
“All transplant recipients are required to take anti-rejection medication for the rest of their lives.
“They are also at higher risk of cancer and other side effects from the medications.”
Ms Manser has also experienced another strange side-effect from the transplant.
“I started to listen to different music and eating different foods that I never did before, which is really weird.
“My specialists advised that personality changes have been reported for decades including accounts of recipients acquiring the personality of their donor.”
Ms Manser said there were a couple of things that could be done to support people who required an organ transplant.
She said a dialysis unit was needed in Cobram to prevent patients from having to travel to other towns for treatment.
Another key way to help was by becoming an organ donor.
“As an organ donor myself, I would ask people to consider becoming an organ donor by discussing it with your family, and to register please go to www.donatelife.gov.au
“There are people on the organ waiting list and some people that don’t get a transplant in time may pass away — we don’t have enough organ donors in Australia,” Ms Manser said.
“The government has been approached for an opt-out system, where you automatically become a donor once you get your driver’s licence.”
Ms Manser has tried to contact her donor’s family to thank them for their choice during what she knows must have been a heartbreaking time.
She has been in contact with a child who received a liver from the same donor.
Ms Manser was surrounded by family for the celebration of the fifth anniversary of her transplant on November 4, and said she would continue to enjoy her special gift and her second chance at life.