Brotherly love: Doctor donates kidney to his little sister [Video]

COMMACK, New York — An 11-year-old girl from Long Island born with a rare genetic syndrome received a life-changing kidney transplant from her brother.

Emily Alanko received the kidney in February from her half-brother, Dr. Daniel Alanko, at Cohen Children’s Medical Center.

In May, she returned to the hospital to thank her doctors and perform a dance — her favorite hobby.

Dr. Alanko currently is doing a residency in pediatric emergency in New Jersey, but worked previously at Cohen Children’s himself.

Emily was born with Branchio-OtoRenal (BOR) Syndrome which can impact both hearing and renal function. In Emily’s case, she was born with just one kidney that wasn’t functioning properly.

Only one in 40,000 babies worldwide are born with the disorder.

“We were getting to the point where Emily was getting more tired, falling asleep during the day, she had no appetite, she wasn’t gaining weight,” said medical director of the Pediatric Kidney Transplant …