From 14% to Full Breath: Remembering Tanya Bothma's Double Lung Transplant Journey
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What does it feel like to breathe freely for the first time at 40 years old?
Tanya Bothma has struggled with every breath since birth. After a meconium aspiration as a newborn and repeated severe viral infections during childhood, she was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, a progressive narrowing of the airways that no medication could reverse.
By 2017, Tanya's lung capacity had fallen to just 14%, less than one litre of air. That year, she became the first patient to receive a bilateral double lung transplant in a state hospital on the African continent. After the operation, her capacity reached 85%. For the first time, she could shout from the sidelines at her daughter's sports matches, support her husband, and live life without counting every breath.
Then, in December 2023, six years after her transplant, Tanya was diagnosed with chronic rejection.
In this episode, Tanya shares what it was like growing up with a severe chronic lung condition, the impossible decision to go ahead with a groundbreaking operation carrying a 50/50 survival rate, the grief of losing her brother in the same year as her transplant, and the joy of watching her daughter grow up on lungs she never thought she'd have.
She also speaks with extraordinary openness about organ donation; what it means to receive a stranger's gift, what it meant to watch her own brother's tissue help 26 people, and why she believes more people need to understand what organ donation really involves.
This episode was originally recorded in 2024 while Tanya was on the waiting list for her second double lung transplant. In December 2025, Tanya received that transplant.
Sadly, Tanya passed away shortly after. Her story lives on as a testament to courage, love, and the life-changing power of organ donation.
This episode was first published in November 2024.
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/spear-reit-a-new-breath
https://odf.org.za/
https://save7.org/
https://podcasthon.org/
Tanya Bothma has struggled with every breath since birth. After a meconium aspiration as a newborn and repeated severe viral infections during childhood, she was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, a progressive narrowing of the airways that no medication could reverse.
By 2017, Tanya's lung capacity had fallen to just 14%, less than one litre of air. That year, she became the first patient to receive a bilateral double lung transplant in a state hospital on the African continent. After the operation, her capacity reached 85%. For the first time, she could shout from the sidelines at her daughter's sports matches, support her husband, and live life without counting every breath.
Then, in December 2023, six years after her transplant, Tanya was diagnosed with chronic rejection.
In this episode, Tanya shares what it was like growing up with a severe chronic lung condition, the impossible decision to go ahead with a groundbreaking operation carrying a 50/50 survival rate, the grief of losing her brother in the same year as her transplant, and the joy of watching her daughter grow up on lungs she never thought she'd have.
She also speaks with extraordinary openness about organ donation; what it means to receive a stranger's gift, what it meant to watch her own brother's tissue help 26 people, and why she believes more people need to understand what organ donation really involves.
This episode was originally recorded in 2024 while Tanya was on the waiting list for her second double lung transplant. In December 2025, Tanya received that transplant.
Sadly, Tanya passed away shortly after. Her story lives on as a testament to courage, love, and the life-changing power of organ donation.
This episode was first published in November 2024.
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/spear-reit-a-new-breath
https://odf.org.za/
https://save7.org/
https://podcasthon.org/
Chapters
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:25 Growing up unable to breathe
- 03:42 Childhood and getting on with it
- 05:31 Marriage and a miracle pregnancy
- 06:05 14% lung capacity
- 07:50 Making history
- 09:11 Six years of full breaths - and chronic rejection
- 11:00 The waiting list
- 13:10 Honoring organ donation
- 15:28 Why Tanya advocates for organ donor awareness
- 17:38 Gratitude and legacy
