Mourners at the funeral of Emma Young urged to consider becoming organ donors

10:25am Thursday 19th November 2009

By Jeremy Small

MOURNERS were urged to consider becoming organ donors at the funeral of a beauty therapist who died aged 22 while waiting for a lung transplant.

The Rev Bill Page delivered the message as part of the service at the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul’s, Pickering, where people gathered to say goodbye to Emma Young, who was a Miss York finalist in 2008.

Men wore pink ties and women pink scarves at the funeral because Emma had loved the colour, and the song Viva Forever, by the Spice Girls, was played in the packed church. Mr Page said: “Perhaps one of the most effective and lasting memories we can give to Emma is to become an organ donor ourselves.

In the event, vital organs didn’t become available for Emma, and she died. When you die, as a donor, you could help someone like Emma to live. So think seriously about it, and in that way Emma’s legacy will live on.” Emma, of Pickering, had been on the waiting list to have a double lung transplant, but donor organs did not become available.

When she was nine months old, Emma was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, which affects the internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, by clogging them with thick, sticky mucus, making it hard to breathe and to digest food.

Mr Page said: “She fought that battle all her life, but that said, she still got on with it – she never complained and remained incredibly strong. Emma’s family said she was not a victim of cystic fibrosis; she lived with it, but never let it get in the way.”

Emma went to Thornton-le-Dale Primary School and Lady Lumley’s School, in Pickering, then studied at York College, where she qualified as a beauty therapist.

Will Elliot, the father of David Elliot, Emma’s boyfriend, paid tribute to her, saying: “Emma was surrounded by love because she herself radiated love, and of course she found that special love with my son. She’d often say to me: ‘Do you know, I’m so lucky.’ We loved her and we’ll miss her.”

Dr Rebecca Thomas, a consultant at York Hospital, who looked after Emma from July 2007 until her death on November 9, has said a successful double lung transplant would have given her an up to a 70 per cent chance of still being alive in five years’ time.

How to join the NHS organ donor register

You can also join when you are registering for a driving licence, applying for a Boots Advantage card, registering at a GP surgery and registering for a European Health Insurance card (EHIC).