HAVE you heard the story of Courtney Evans, the 25-year-old who plays for the Wakefield Trinity women’s team who donated part of her liver to a baby who desperately needed a liver transplant to survive?
Courtney recently underwent a 10-hour operation at St. James’s Hospital in Leeds to become their youngest-ever liver donor.
The procedure took place two days after she played in the semi-final of the Women’s Rugby League (League 2) with her former club, the Halifax Panthers.
She told the BBC: “I play rugby, so having scars on my legs from studs and knocks here and there, having one on my sternum doesn’t faze me.”
She is hoping to return to play in the first match of the season with Wakefield this Sunday, 23 March.
Courtney was inspired to volunteer for the surgery because of her day job working in CT Radiology at the Mid Yorkshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and by caring for her father who is diabetic.
She has been nominated for the Yorkshire Choice Awards Inspirational Individual of the Year 2025.
I only became aware of her when she featured on the BBC’s Look North programme recently.
She told the Wakefield Trinity Community Foundation: “Having since heard about the progress of the baby, it’s so overwhelming to think, ‘I’ve saved a life!’ It’s really hard to put into words, but it is something that I’ll never forget.”
If she is selected for Wakefield this Sunday, I hope she gets a special cheer from the crowd.
She’s obviously a remarkably brave and generous young woman.
