Dear Daughter

The gift of life


Listen Later

Brenda, a Canadian mother living with chronic kidney disease, was facing a long and uncertain wait for a transplant, until 2013 when her daughter Kielah stepped forward with an extraordinary act of love.

Kielah volunteered to donate a kidney, but when tests revealed she wasn’t a match, she refused to give up. Instead, she entered Canada’s paired exchange programme, donating her kidney to a stranger so that Brenda could receive a compatible one in return.

In a poignant letter for Dear Daughter, Brenda reflects on the “ticking clock” of living with a transplant and her daily gratitude for the daughter whose selflessness saved her life. Now a mother herself, Kielah tells Namulanta Kombo about watching her mum’s decline and why, despite the risks, she didn’t hesitate to give up a kidney to save her mum.

To find out more about Dear Daughter, to take part, or read our privacy notice, please go to www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter. Or you can contact the team via WhatsApp on +44 800 030 4404.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Dear DaughterBy BBC World Service

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

165 ratings


More shows like Dear Daughter

View all
Woman's Hour by BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour

392 Listeners

Desert Island Discs by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs

2,000 Listeners

Lives Less Ordinary by BBC World Service

Lives Less Ordinary

589 Listeners

Health Check by BBC World Service

Health Check

93 Listeners

Inside Health by BBC Radio 4

Inside Health

97 Listeners

Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee by Dr Rangan Chatterjee: GP & Author

Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

3,987 Listeners

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day by Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

1,196 Listeners

Sliced Bread by BBC Radio 4

Sliced Bread

150 Listeners

Life Changing by BBC Radio 4

Life Changing

67 Listeners

ZOE Science & Nutrition by ZOE

ZOE Science & Nutrition

2,139 Listeners

Therapy Works by Julia Samuel

Therapy Works

57 Listeners

The Rest Is Entertainment by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Entertainment

922 Listeners

Off Air with Jane & Fi by The Times

Off Air with Jane & Fi

174 Listeners

Strangers on a Bench by Tom Rosenthal

Strangers on a Bench

766 Listeners

What's Up Docs? by BBC Radio 4

What's Up Docs?

105 Listeners