On her 20th birthday, Alia Alhamedh found out that she had kidney problems and would need dialysis treatment. Her brother, Buti, offered to donate his kidney – “I wanted to change her life,” he explained – but Alia initially said no. “I didn’t want the donor to be one of my family members,” she said. “But after about a year, my mental state worsened so much that I asked my brother to start the donation process.”