Upworthy · 11 hours ago

Unhealthy Dad Lost 71 Pounds to Donate His Kidney to a Stranger

Dave Rueckl faced an impossible choice when his stepdaughter needed a third kidney transplant: he wasn't a match, and at 295 pounds, doctors told him he was too unhealthy to donate to anyone at all. What followed was a transformation born not of vanity but of love-a 71-pound weight loss fueled by CrossFit, home-cooked meals, and the singular goal of saving a stranger's life so his daughter could move to the top of the transplant list. "By donating the kidney to the NKR, I saved Hasan's life, Becky's life, and my life," Rueckl reflects, now 63 and healthier than he's ever been. His kidney went to Hasan, a man he'd never met; Becky received her transplant years later; and Rueckl discovered that sometimes the greatest act of giving is also an act of self-rescue.