My Sister’s Keeper (2009)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A sister born to be a donor must decide if she wants to sacrifice her body for her sibling's survival.
The story
Young Kate Fitzgerald is diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, devastating her parents, firefighter Brian and lawyer Sara. As neither of them nor Kate's older brother Jesse are genetic matches for her, Brian and Sara conceive a savior sister, Anna, through in vitro fertilization. Anna has donated compatible blood and stem cells to Kate, and her life has been full of hospitalizations and treatments. When Kate suffers kidney failure, 11-year-old Anna is required to donate one of her kidneys. This leads Anna to seek legal help from attorney Campbell Alexander to sue her parents for medical emancipation, sparking a conflict within the family as they navigate the ethics of her role as a donor.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After Kate's diagnosis with leukemia, the family creates a 'savior' sister, Anna, via IVF. Anna spends her life providing blood and stem cells to Kate. When Kate suffers kidney failure, Anna seeks legal emancipation from her parents to decide her own medical fate. During the legal battle, a rift forms between Anna and her mother, Sara, leading her father, Brian, to move Anna into his fire station. The story also reveals Kate's past relationship with another patient, Taylor, who died shortly after they had sex. During the trial, it is revealed that Anna is acting on Kate's wishes; Kate, knowing she won't survive another surgery, asked Anna to refuse the transplant. Following Kate's death, Anna wins her case. The family reconciles, and the film ends with Anna reflecting on their bond, noting she was born because she had a sister.
- First release year
- 2009
- Runtime (minutes)
- 109
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Nick Cassavetes
- Writers
- Jeremy Leven · screenplay; Nick Cassavetes · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Cameron Diaz; Abigail Breslin; Alec Baldwin; Jason Patric; Sofia Vassilieva; Joan Cusack
- Genres
- legal melodrama; drama
- Themes
- medical ethics; family sacrifice; autonomy; sisterhood
- Tone and mood
- melodramatic; emotional
- Setting
- Modern day, including a hospital and a fire station, with a final trip to Montana.
- Premise and plot tags
- medical ethics; legal drama; family conflict; cancer
- Source material / true-story basis
- Jodi Picoult's 2004 novel of the same name, based on Marissa and Anissa Ayala.
- Content notes
- death
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising the performances but criticizing the heavy-handed, melodramatic direction.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 47% · scale: percentage · review count: 139; Metacritic · score: 51 · scale: 100 · review count: 28; CinemaScore · score: A- · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Teen Choice Award · winning films · win
- Production trivia
- Sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning were originally cast but dropped out.; The film grossed over $92 million on a $30 million budget.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…