Mid Yorkshire staff member selflessly donates part of her liver to help a child she has never met

Courtney Evans, from Barnsley, has been hailed as a local hero after undergoing a life-saving liver donation for a baby she has never met.

25-year-old Courtney, who works as part of our Radiology team at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, volunteered to undergo a 10-hour complex surgery at St James’s Hospital in Leeds to donate part of her liver to a young child in urgent need.

Despite the intense physical demands of the surgery and recovery, Courtney, who is also a rugby league full-back player, was able to join her teammates for Wakefield Trinity’s season opener on 23 March, just five months after her procedure.

She said: “Working where I work, we see the before and after of transplant patients. The difference in their lives is massive.”

“I feel really overwhelmed and joyful that I got the opportunity to do this.”

Thanks to the liver’s ability to regenerate, both the transplanted portion and the part that remains with the donor can grow back to their full, normal size.

Courtney’s selfless gesture has since earned her a nomination for Inspirational Individual of the Year at the 2025 Yorkshire Choice Awards, which is due to take place in June, and she hopes to use her experience to raise awareness about living organ donation.