Palestinian woman donates own kidney to save son

A poor Palestinian widow has travelled to Amman in Jordan to donate her own kidney to save her son's life. Fifty-year-old Asma Barham, who has five children, did not think twice just to save her 23-year-old Ebrahim Sharif Ebrahim Barham who was admitted to Prince Hamza Public Hospital. Speaking to Gulf News, Ebrahim heaped praises on her mother. "When I was diagnosed with kidney failure, my mother told the doctors she will donate her kidney and insisted on that," he said. "It is a blesssing to have a mother who really cares and ready to sacrifice." Ebrahim has been suffering from a kidney problem since he was 11. "I undergo [dialysis] every two days, which my mother supports," he said. Ebrahim lost his father, who had cancer, in 2000, leaving his mother to support two boys and three girls. The family, who lived in Kuwait before moving to the West Bank, spent their savings for their patriarch's medication. A senior official of the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs told Gulf News that the family has already applied for financial help in Ebrahim's case. "We will cover the two-way transportation expenses of the Amman medical trip," he said. Asma told Gulf News that she had lived a tough life, but she was happy to be supporting her family. "I am ready to sacrifice my life for my children," she said. "The last thing I want is to lose a son the way I lost a husband."