If not for a special gift five decades ago, Minja Ivelja’s​ life might have looked completely different.

She likely wouldn’t have been able to see the world, to raise her daughter, or see her grandsons be born and grow into young men. Because in her mid-twenties, in the early 1970s, Ivelja’s kidneys were failing.

She was very unwell: a priest had read her Last Rites and husband Lawrence​ was saying goodbye, she says. Dialysis helped, until early in 1974​ when they learnt a young man had died, who was a match to give her his kidney.

Today marks 50 years since that day, and Ivelja’s kidney is still going strong – making the Auckland woman likely one of the longest surviving kidney recipients in Australasia.

According to the United Kingdom’s NHS, a kidney transplant from a living donor lasts for 20–25 years​, while a kidney from a deceased donor lasts 15–20 years​, on average.

Ivelja, who lives on the North Shore with her daughter, son-in-law Owen and two grandchildren, hadn’t experienced kidney issues prior to immigrating to Melbourne from former Yugoslavia in 1969​, and says nothing was diagnosed until she started bleeding during her second pregnancy, in 1971​.

At that time, Ivelja – who barely spoke English, and relied on her husband to translate – learnt her kidneys weren’t working properly. One had failed, and the other was operating at a very minimal level, daughter Sandra Ivelja​ says.

Then, after a couple of years on dialysis, Ivelja’s pager went off: they had a kidney.

She’d never had an operation, and didn’t quite understand: she was scared, questioning whether she would live or die. But she remembered her husband saying to her, “Darling, it cannot be worse. It has to be better.”

On January 2, 1974,​ Ivelja received a new kidney.

That “beautiful gift” five decades ago enabled Ivelja to live a full life, she says.

She became healthier and stronger. She started her own clothing company – ML (Minja and Lawrence) Fashions – and made clothes for 22 years, through which she met “all kinds of people”.

Ivelja quickly learnt English, and life was “really good”.

“We had a beautiful life,” Ivelja reflects, now aged 77​.

“I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

“We had everything – I mean, we didn’t have millions and millions of dollars, but we had each other… we had what we needed.”

“That’s the most important thing.”

In 2006​, Lawrence was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the couple moved to Auckland to be close to Sandra and their grandsons. He died two years later​.

Daughter Sandra said they’ve been able to do “some wonderful things together”… we’ve been to New York, we’ve been to Hawaii, we’ve been on cruises”.

It would be lovely for that family to know their loved one’s kidney “has given this old woman a full life, for 50 years. It would be amazing”, Sandra said.

When asked what she would say to the family of the donor, if she had the chance, Ivelja is pensive.

“I saw my grandchildren growing up. I lived with my husband for nearly 40 years. I have a beautiful daughter, I have a beautiful son-in-law, and I’m alright. I’m healthy. Thanks to their [loved one].”

Each May, the family attend the annual Transplant Thanksgiving Service at Holy Trinity Cathedral, where Ivelja and her daughter joke she’s regarded as almost a celebrity.

“She’s such an inspiration… they go, ‘oh my god, this woman had a kidney for 50 years. My kidney can last,” Sandra said.

“That’s what gives me pleasure,” Ivelja said, “when you tell people it’s been 50 years, and it’s still going”.

“It will come with me.”

On the anniversary, on Tuesday, Ivelja will have a party to celebrate 50 years with her kidney, and reflect on all it has allowed her to do and experience – surrounded by friends, family and medical support.

She looks forward to toasting with a Bacardi and Coca-Cola, a favourite she and her husband shared.

Clinical lead for Organ Donation New Zealand, Dr Joanne Ritchie​, said Ivelja’s story is “just amazing”.

“Having a [donor organ] for 50 years, it’s absolutely life-changing, and life-saving,” she said.

People live much longer after a kidney transplant than they do on dialysis, and being on dialysis means it can be “really hard” to work, travel, or have a family, Ritchie said.

Ritchie said when organ donation is raised with a whānau, in a situation where it may be possible, it’s much easier for people to make a decision when they know what their loved one wanted.

She encouraged everyone to have a conversation with those close to them about their wishes, if they are keen to be organ donors.

Ritchie also wanted to convey her thanks to those who give such life-changing gifts, and “how grateful we are to people who donate in some of the worst situations possible”.

Dr Helen Pilmore​, nephrologist at Te Toka Tumai Auckland, said kidney transplants can have a significantly positive impact on recipients for many years.

“Minja has had an extremely successful kidney transplant that has lasted for five decades, which is really exceptional.”

“We know that transplantation saves lives and gives people with organ failure a much better quality of life, and Minja is a great example of this.”

Te Whatu Ora says hers is likely one of the longest-lasting transplants in Aotearoa.

Ivelja hopes that her experience inspires others to talk about organ donation, and realise the significance it can have.

“We are born like dust, we go like dust. If you don’t need it any more, give it to somebody who does need it.”