Rachel didn’t need to think twice.
She was traveling in Asia when she learned that her 22-year-old brother, Harry, had suffered kidney failure. A blood test in January 2025 revealed how serious the situation was: he had Alport syndrome, a hereditary disease, and his kidney function had fallen to just 5%. His younger brother, Oliver, also offered to donate, but doctors considered him too young.
No one pressured Rachel. She spoke to her mother and then messaged Harry: she wanted to donate a kidney to him. She spent ten months undergoing assessments before doctors declared her fit to donate, and on July 23 they both entered Manchester Royal Infirmary. After the surgery, they watched a video of the procedure together, right at the moment her kidney began working inside him.
Today, Harry’s kidney function is at 67%, and he no longer needs dialysis. “I feel like I’ve got my life back”, he says. And Rachel sums it up with a sense of humor: “Harry now has a piece of me inside him”.