Ten years ago, Renee Chong barely had enough breath to comb her hair as the disease cystic fibrosis took a growing toll on her health.

The 50-year-old from Monks Park, Milbourne, near Malmesbury, spent each day in a wheelchair hooked up to oxygen to help her survive.

Yet the death of an 18-year-old girl gave Ms Chong the chance to live, because the teenager donated her heart and lungs.

"It was her wish and I often think of her," said Ms Chong, whose life has been transformed by the transplant.

"Before the transplant I was just in survival mode," she said.

"I had difficulty brushing my hair and did not have the puff to do anything. In the last 18 months before the transplant I was in a wheelchair on oxygen 24-hours a day.

"Now I travel, I work, I play sports and I lead a perfectly normal life."

On January 10 1995, Ms Chong underwent the five hour transplant operation at Harefield Hospital in Middlesex, performed by the reknown Professor Magdi Yacoub.

Since the operation, Ms Chong attends regular check-ups at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London.

She also takes blood tests every two months at Malmsbury's Gable House Surgery and takes regular prescriptions of enzymes, vitamins and anti-rejection drugs.

Ms Chon grew up in Dublin and was a keen tennis player and member of the local club.

It was not until the age of 24 while working as a secretary in Brussels, she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.

Over the following ten years her condition deteriorated and she spent months at a time in hospital with chest complaints.

Following three false hopes, the 18-year-old's organs were found to be suitable for Mrs Chong.

"I wrote a letter to the parents of the girl to say thanks," she said.

She added: "The false alarms I endured before the transplant were actually harder than the transplant. Until the doctors harvest an organ they cannot be sure it is suitable.

"After the third false alarm, time was not on my side. Since the operation, I realise you can never take life for granted. Life is much sweeter now."

Mrs Chong paid tribute to the support she has received from her friends and neighbours.

And despite suffering years of pain, she said the will to live always pulled her through.

"I am a Catholic and my faith was very important to me," she said. "In one stint I was in hospital for five months but I never thought of giving up.

"I decided I had to live. You are so busy trying to take the next breath and survive. You just do not have time to waste on negative energy. All that time my neighbours and friends have been great."

Even more remarkably, the former wheelchair-bound invalid has become a medal-winning athlete.

She won silver medals from the European Heart and Lung Transplant Games in Austria, in singles tennis and doubles badminton, two years ago.

And two years earlier she picked up gold at the European Heart and Lung Championships in Norway, for doubles table tennis.

She also competed in the transplant games in Dublin last year.

Ms Chong said: "I am very lucky a donor came forward. During the last ten years I have had no organ rejection and no hospitalisation.

"I take part in the transplant games that I really enjoy. I work part-time as a receptionist at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester and am secretary of Malmesbury Twinning Association. My ambition is now to raise more publicity for donor awareness."

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that leads to thick sticky mucus obstructing the airway, where it forms a breeding ground for infection. Each infection causes progressive lung damage.

In the digestive system, thick secretions clog the pancreas. Not enough digestive enzymes are produced which leads to malnutrition, slowed growth and development.

Only 30 years ago, children suffering from the condition from birth were not expected to survive until adulthood but breakthroughs in treatment mean the average life expectancy is 32, with many patients living into their 50s and 60s. For more information on how to become an organ donor, call the NHS line 0845 6060400.