Kim had a cancerous tumour in her liver, and doctors feared the cancer would spread unless she received an urgent organ transplant.

Twenty years later, Kim is celebrating the liver – and the anonymous donor and their family – that gave her a new life.

“I said ‘If I can make five years I’d be so happy’,” she told the Daily Liberal on Thursday.

“And then I went ‘I’d like another five years’.

“Now I just think positive, and hopefully I’ll still be here in another 20 years!”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Kim. Her body rejected the liver three times and she spent years having to take anti-rejection medication.

But the experience taught her to take nothing for granted – least of all the chance to watch her children James, Tanya and Sally grow up.

They were 15, 13 and eight years old, respectively, when Kim was sick.

“I wanted to see them grow up and be there if they had problems and when they had children,” Kim said.

“Now I’ve got eight grandchildren and five extended grandchildren, so I’m pretty lucky.”

Now with children of her own, Sally is also grateful to have her mum around.

“It’s hard to even put words to that,” she said. “You always turn to your mum.”

Indicating son Kody, Sally said: “She was there when I had this one. She was at my wedding.”

“When you’re eight years old you don’t think about how you’re going to go without your mum.”

Kim is well out of the woods. But she still took the chance to urge people to think about organ donation.

“It would be a great message for everyone to, like as the kids are growing up, sit down, talk to them … Talk about if you want to donate your organs,” she said.

“If no one donates, well no one can get an organ.

“I know it’s sad that someone has to lose a life to donate organs but you know...” Her voice trailed off. “I really would like to thank the family that gave me the organ.”

Sally added a donated organ was life-changing for the recipient and their entire family – including those yet to be born.

“It goes further than that individual and it is essentially giving someone a second life.”

For more information on organ and tissue donation, or to register as a donor, visit www.donatelife.gov.au/