Hatice Duru was just 2 months old when her parents noticed that her eyes were swollen. The tests confirmed it: kidney failure. Her 24-year-old father, Ejder Okur, wanted to donate a kidney to her, but they weren’t a match. In another city in Turkey, Ali Keskin was going through the same thing with his daughter, 8-year-old Hatice Mehlika, who had been sick for 4 years and on dialysis for a year and a half. He couldn’t donate his kidney to her either. It was at Başkent Hospital in Ankara that the two families met, and tests revealed something unexpected: Ejder’s kidney was a match for Mehlika, and Ali’s was a match for Duru. Neither father could save his own daughter, but each could save the other’s. On October 22, they both went into surgery. Ali gave his kidney to Duru. Ejder gave his to Mehlika. At just 18 months old, Duru became the youngest patient to receive a paired kidney transplant. “We saved each other’s daughters,” Ejder said. Mehlika, now recovered, had a request for those listening to her: “There are many children like us. Help them, save their lives too.” - @konah619