It seems like Anna is being selfish by not wanting to donate her kidney to save her sister, but her actions are really because she loves her sister and doesn't want to see her suffer anymore. Her motivation is not what it appears to be. From the time Anna was a baby, she donated blood to save her older sister Kate who has leukemia which is a type of blood cancer. Anna was genetically engineered by her parents to be a perfect donor match for her sister. By the time she is 13, she says she doesn't want to be forced by her parents to donate anymore. She finds a lawyer to help her sue her parents for "medical emancipation." On the surface, it seems like Anna doesn't want to save her sister. In fact, her mother, Sara, is angry and frustrated to learn that Anna wants to stop donating to her sister. At one point, after Kate has been readmitted to the hospital, Sara seems to blame Anna for it. "She looks at Anna, still standing in the doorway of the kitchen: I hope you're happy" (114). However, Anna doesn't seem like the kind of person who wouldn't care about her sister. She is frustrated too because "...a major decision about me is being made, and no one's bothered to ask the one person who most deserves it to speak her opinion..." This is obviously a very hard thing for Anna to do and she is upset that it's causing so much stress in her family. Then we learn something in a conversation between Kate and Anna. Kate says, "If you don't want to be my sister anymore, that's one thing. But I don't think I could stand to lose you as a friend"(57). Anna is crying and thinks to herself, "I can't stand the thought of losing her, either"(57). This shows that Anna's motivation for suing her parents is complicated by the love she has for her sister and wanting to be a good sister.
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