Woman diets to become kidney donor - UPI.com

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CHICAGO, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- An Illinois woman says she lost 135 pounds to qualify as a potential donor for her brother, diagnosed with a kidney disorder.

Sometime in the next two weeks at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Kari Roberts of Crestwood will donate a kidney to her brother Tony Bolda, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Tuesday.

"I started losing the weight as soon as I heard that he needed the transplant," Roberts, 35, said. "They wouldn't even let me be tested until I was healthy, and I was very overweight. So I started walking a mile a day, five or six days a week, and eating a low-fat diet. I right away said I would do it."

When Bolda, 40 was diagnosed in 2008, Roberts weighed 320 pounds.

After losing the 135 pounds, she was tested and found to be a perfect donor match for her brother.

A sibling match had been a long shot, said another sister, Kim Bittner.

"I have medical problems, so I couldn't even consider [donating]," said Bittner, 44. "I had a minor stroke, and my other sister Kathy had medical problems, so she wasn't even capable. So Kari was the only sibling that we had."