Sister donates kidney to brother battling rare diagnosis

By Emily Phillips

A sister stepped in to save her brother's life after donating her kidney to him – after he was diagnosed with a rare condition.

Harry Ware, 22, was at university in London when he began suffering with bad cramps and needing the bathroom more than usual.

By the time he reached his third year, he was skipping parties to sleep and could not stand up without becoming breathless.

After a blood test in January 2025 he was taken straight to the ER due to his risk of fainting and was admitted to the hospital.

Five days later he was diagnosed with Alport syndrome – an inherited kidney disease caused by an abnormality of collagen in the body.

Harry's kidney function was at just 5% and he required a transplant, with sister Rachel, 24, confirmed as a viable donor.

After a 10-month donor assessment process, the procedure went ahead on July 23, 2026 and Harry now has his "life back."

Harry, a student, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, says: "I guess some people might find it odd, but Rachel and I never had that conversation.

"She never asked if I wanted her kidney and I never asked to have it.

"She spoke to my mom about it and just texted me saying she wanted to do it.

"Before the surgery, Rachel was the only person I felt 100% comfortable talking to about it all.

"I couldn't have wanted a better person to go through it with.

"The biggest relief is not having to have dialysis anymore, as it started to rule my life.

"It's a really weird feeling to be able to think, 'Oh, I don't have to go and sit in a chair for hours now.

"The day is my own to use.'

"It feels like I have my life back."

Sister Rachel, who works in operational communications, was traveling in Asia when she received the news that Harry had gone into kidney failure.

The pair's younger brother Oliver, now 18, offered to donate, but was deemed too young.

"After that, they said my medical history suggested I might be viable, so I became the primary donor," Rachel said.

"There was zero pressure from anyone in the family.

"It was very much our decision to make and the family supported whatever that decision would be.

"It all felt very quick.

"He'd never been poorly before, so going from messages saying he was unwell to being diagnosed with kidney failure in a matter of weeks was a shock.

"Our family's outlook was simply, 'What can we do to help?'

"We looked at getting on the donor list as soon as possible, and I did loads of reading about other people's stories online."

After the 10-month donor assessment, the surgery was able to go ahead on July 23, 2026 and Lisa Mulreid, a living donor transplant coordinator at Manchester Royal Infirmary, says the pair were "fantastic to work with."

"In the build-up to the procedure, the pair sat by each other's bedside without fear," she says.

Harry and Rachel even watched their surgery back together after it had gone ahead.

"Surgery was quite an overwhelming idea, as I'd never had an operation and rarely went to the hospital," Rachel says.

"Seeing my kidney in the pre-operative scans and then in the recorded footage was crazy.

"I actually had a really nice but emotional moment with my mom when we watched the footage back in the car.

"It was really interesting to see how many people are involved in a transplant procedure.

"There were a couple of people operating on me whom I remembered walking past in corridors, and it was cool to see them then operating on me.

"I feel lucky to have been able to experience it this way.

"I couldn't believe the moment where my kidney is in Harry and it suddenly comes to life.

"It's all been worth it for moments like that or seeing Harry walking okay again.

"I was looking at my scar the other day and thought it's pretty cool that Harry now has a bit of me in him.

"We've been wondering whether he'll also get my mood swings.

"It is weird to think he has a piece of me in him, but I look at my scar and it's also like I have a piece of Harry with me forever.

"Almost like a tattoo to remind me of him."

As the organ recipient, recovery has been more challenging for Harry, but he is recovering well.

He said: "Recovery has been tough in that I have to be cautious about potential infection.

"I haven't even hugged my mom yet.

"At one point it did look like my body might be rejecting Rachel's kidney.

"I couldn't bear to tell her after all we had been through.

"But my kidney function is at 67% and it keeps jumping up every day."