'It’s never something you forget': Glasgow woman speaks out after brother donates kidney

Ifrah Raza was just 11-years-old when she collapsed, and her kidneys suddenly failed. It came as a shock, as the schoolgirl had no previous health issues.

She went into cardiac arrest and spent time in a coma. Her family were told to come and say their goodbyes.

Ifrah and Adeel (Image: Supplied)

The 32-year-old, who got both her kidneys removed, and was put onto dialysis, said: “It was a complete shock to the system for everyone. There’s no history of kidney failure in the family, I had no prior illness, nothing at all. It was completely out of the blue.

“I was on dialysis for two years. Eventually, my uncle Ijaz donated one of his kidneys to me when I was 13. They said to me ‘you’ll always need another transplant because you’ve had one so young, we just don’t know when’.

“So, it was always something in the back of my mind. Because I get regular check-ups, I get an idea of what the function is like, so it was fine, it was doing really well.”

Unfortunately, due to stress, Ifrah’s kidney started to fail sooner than expected, in 2019.

“I spoke to my brothers, not with the intention of them doing anything about it, but just to let them know what was going on,” Ifrah, 32, said.

“Both of them instantly asked ‘what can we do to help, when can we help’, they were just absolute gems.

“Adeel and Nabeel went for testing and Adeel was a slightly better match, so they opted for him. He started with the tests and lockdown happened. Everything stopped, and I had to go back on dialysis.

“It just gets you by, it only does the job of about 10% of a kidney function so you don’t feel great, but it’s better than nothing.

“Because I was classed as high-risk, I couldn’t do my job during lockdown, which kind of worked in my favour because it meant I could rest.

“After the first lockdown, they were doing some tests again. Luckily, Adeel already had the major ones done and there were only a few remaining.”

The 29-year-old was confirmed as being a suitable match and on September 21, 2020, the transplant went ahead.

“Just because you’re related it doesn’t mean there’s a guarantee you’re a match and even then, there’s no guarantee your body will take to it well”, Ifrah said.

“It’s essentially a miracle in itself, it’s a very risky thing. Anything can happen.

“We did have a few blips in between. We weren’t sure if it was going to go ahead. I was more hesitant; I didn’t really feel comfortable with the idea, but Adeel was adamant he wanted to do this.

“It's something you can never put into words, I’m fully aware just how lucky I am to have people like that in my life. I get emotional every time I think about it. It’s never something you forget, it’s always something in the back of your mind.

“As safe as the operation is, they’re still essentially putting their lives at risk to save mine, so what do you even say to that?

“They are just absolute gems, they never mention it or bring it up, I try and live my life in a certain way that makes them proud.

“When you come from an ethnic minority background, getting a match is hard, you could be on dialysis for over 10 years. I hate to think how long I’d have had to wait and how my life would be restricted if it wasn’t for them, and other members of family that came forward as well.

"I’ve been able to live a normal life thanks to them.”

After the operation, Ifrah and Adeel, from Mansewood, went through a long recovery process.

She said: “You’ve got the side effects and all these other things. It’s not smooth sailing immediately afterwards. Adeel was fantastic, after six months he was pretty much back to normal.

“You can’t rush into anything; you have to be patient with yourself and remind yourself you have gone through such a big thing. In your head, you forget. I felt fantastic compared to when I was on dialysis.

"It was night and day straight away, I had all this energy but when I tried to do something my body was like ‘no, no you have to wait a while’. You have to rebuild that strength.

“With Adeel, the main reason he was so keen to go ahead with the transplant was that my uncle is the best example. We’ve seen what he’s like, we’ve seen what the future is like after having given a kidney 19 years ago.

“He’s got children, he’s got a fantastic job, he’s super fit, he still plays badminton and football. Although it’s not an easy thing to do, it still takes a special person to do something like that.”

Ifrah and Adeel are keen to raise awareness of kidney disease.

The pair completed a zip slide across the River Clyde on Sunday and have raised nearly £600.

Ifrah added: “Kidney failure is really common but it’s not as well-known of. They call it the silent killer. You tend not to have symptoms until it’s almost too late.”

To donate, visit click HERE.