The precious gift of time… Anna Maharaj shares her kidney transplant journey

Updated November 2025

Reflecting on Thank You Day, November 21st, 2025.

Thank You Day 2025: a day to commemorate and give thanks to all the incredible donors, donor whanau, and medical staff who make organ and tissue donation possible.

Please join us all in showing our gratitude for these amazing humans who make the selfless decision to be organ donors and then buckle in beside us to support and continue caring for the lifeline that is organ donation.

The saying “living life to the fullest” took on a whole new meaning at the age of twelve when my renal failure journey began… 23.5 Years of donated life thanks to the selfless decision my donor made to donate their organs.

“I live every single day with an attitude of gratitude”.

After being diagnosed with SLE (also known as lupus), the battle to save my own kidneys and my life meant endless rounds of chemotherapy, heavy immunosuppression, IV steroids, hospital admissions and the care of many dedicated medical professionals.

After being so unwell for most of my teenage years I was lucky enough to have a few years in remission. At this time, I was able to attend the University of Waikato to pursue my dream of becoming a teacher.

I was in ward 24 at Waikato hospital for almost two years leading up to my transplant, being too sick to leave hospital with endless infections, operations, renal failure, no energy, short of breath and requiring blood transfusions. I want to acknowledge the staff at the Waikato Home Dialysis Unit, as their training and support allowed me a six-month period being on dialysis at home, especially Nicky and Mark and the many other nurses who encouraged me to get home with a machine and gain some independence.

During this time, I had incredible friends who would visit and bring me chocolate brownies. My appetite was poor back then and I needed a feeding tube. However, I could tolerate brownies!

I was one of the first patients to be put on the transplant waiting list from Waikato hospital in 2001. Dr Ian Dittmer, Dr Helen Pilmore, Dr Maggie Fisher, Dr Kim Wong and Dr Peter Sizeland championed my cause and did everything to keep me alive on dialysis so I would be a successful transplant candidate. I am forever grateful to them, because in 2002 I received my kidney from a deceased donor at Auckland Hospital.

My family and I celebrate my transplant anniversary every year, it is bittersweet.

I think about my daughter, my husband, my donor and the borrowed time I have been so generously given from my donor. This gift of life has given me time to see my daughter grow into an adult, to travel, to create a beautiful home and to fulfill my continued passion for Primary school teaching.

I am under the wonderful care of Middlemore Hospital Renal Transplant Team and have been with them for the past 22 years. I know how lucky I am to have them all. I also have a very supportive family GP who collaborates with the transplant team and is very accessible, which I am grateful for.

As a transplant recipient, I am focused on making my life count and honoring my donor and those who have changed my life and the lives of so many individuals fortunate enough to receive transplants. Life is truly precious.

My second chance has meant I have married the most incredible, handsome, loving man who is by my side through all the ups and downs of my health journey. The other very important person is our daughter.

Without my donated kidney I wouldn’t have been around to experience the absolute delight of loving a child and being such a proud Mum. I am so blessed.

I have also fulfilled my passion for teaching, working with incredible students and staff. To say this is rewarding is an understatement, teaching children has given me purpose and the sincerity of the profession never ceases to amaze me. I am continuously inspired to reflect on my own practice as a teacher, without my transplant this wouldn’t have been possible.

My family and I attend the annual Service of Thanksgiving every year in recognition of those who have given the gift of life to others.

It’s a very emotional service, my daughter and I light a candle every year to acknowledge and remember the gift, but also the loss my donor family reflects on the day their loved one passed away.

Living would not have been possible without the selfless act of organ donation. Through organ donation we celebrate new life and new beginnings. It’s a joyful thing to live, however without the gift of life, the many health professionals, transplant coordinators and others involved at such a fragile time, for those living with a transplant or awaiting a transplant, the path back to health would be much more difficult, if not impossible.

Thank you for taking the time to read my transplant story.

I recently celebrated 23.5 years since my transplant; this was a profound moment for me, a time to reflect on my journey, through all the highs and lows. I can honestly say I will never waste a single moment of my life.

2025 has been very busy navigating a post covid world, at the same time very fulfilling. I recently was asked to be the National Organ Donation representative on the Organ and Tissue Clinical Governance Committee, a voice from a transplant perspective. It is an honour and immense privilege to participate and represent transplant recipients, advocating for organ donation, raising awareness of how donation saves lives and sharing my kidney transplant journey.

Coming up, we have our final Organ and Tissue Donation Governance committee meeting for 2025. It is an absolute honor and privilege to be the national transplant recipient voice in a collective space of inspirational humans who all advocate for organ donation equitable outcomes for those on life saving organ recipient waiting

lists.

Thank You day 2025 is coming up fast also, this year November 21st. Every year we encourage everyone to have a conversation about organ donation. Please check out the Organ Donation New Zealand website for up-to-date information.

Thank You Day, thank you to all our donors and their whānau for the most incredible gift of life at the most difficult of times.

On November 21st, as a kidney transplant recipient, I honor all organ and tissue donors for their precious gift.

My family and I would like to say a heartfelt thank you. We also want to express our gratitude for all those involved in the process of organ donation.

Nobody knows what the future will bring, however without organ donation; I wouldn’t be here to share my story. Thank you to all donors and their whānau for the gift of life, the most incredible gift at extremely difficult times.

In Aotearoa, New Zealand we have amazing organisations that work to support end stage kidney disease such the Auckland District Kidney Society, Kidney Health NZ and many community-focused groups that do the mahi to enable people to live their best lives possible.

Thank You Day 2025, we acknowledge and give thanks to their mahi. These groups and individuals work closely with people at the most vulnerable times of their lives and for me personally, these experiences are held close in and my memory forever.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge Organ Donation New Zealand, their continued support of myself and all transplant recipients and donor families is something we are all truly grateful for.

Tuakana teina, “we are stronger together”

Life is precious x

~ Anna Maharaj