A former King’s College Hospital student has donated his kidney to his radiographer teacher

In 2010 while at King's College Hospital, Sonia Leonardo was just another one of Ali's radiology teachers. In 2017, Ali became a donor match to Sonia's kidney.

Ali found out that his former teacher had fallen sick and reached out to her through Facebook, where she told him that she had been diagnosed with kidney failure and needed dialysis on a daily basis while she was waiting for a donor – and he instantly offered to give her one of his own.

Speaking to The Tab, Sonia told us that both she "and Ali are very happy to help create awareness for kidney donation. I support 100% the petition that The Mirror is doing!"

The Tab also reached out to Ali, who told us that he wanted to "help straight away. I was one of her radiography students, and she was always really kind and inspiring."

After a successful operation and recovery, which restored 78% of Sonia's kidney function, the pair have spoken to various media outlets in an attempt to raise awareness for the remaining 5,500 people on the transplant waiting list.