Losing weight is never easy, but for father Dave Rueckl, he found his motivation. His stepdaughter, Becky, needed a third kidney transplant due to an autoimmune disorder called Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Unfortunately, Rueckl knew he was not a match to be her donor. However, he figured out what he could do to help her: donate his kidney to a stranger on the National Kidney Registry (NKR). “By donating to the registry, your loved one is moved to the top of the list for the next match in the NKR,” he tells Upworthy. What happened next was a journey of strength, pure will, and grit. Screenshot Rueckl starts weight loss journey Although he was willing to donate his kidney, he wasn’t able to. After undergoing medical testing, Rueckl (who was 60 years old at the time) was told that he was not fit to donate a kidney due to being overweight. “I needed to be under 240 pounds. At this time, I was 295 pounds…and as I like to say very fluffy,” he tells Upworthy. “When the doctors told me I needed to lose the weight this was the perfect time for me to quit making excuses and make some changes in my life.” Rueckl had two people who could help him: his best friend Tom Fameree, a six-time CrossFit Games qualifier, and his wife Gail, a chef.  “[Gail] changed our diet and started cooking healthy nutritious food,” says Rueckl, who added that he was eating fast food everyday. Encouraged by Fameree, he also joined CrossFit Green Bay. Rueckl deadlifts at CrossFit Green Bay. His CrossFit coaches Cody and Justin asked him what he wanted to achieve. “I told them that my main objective was to lose weight and become more fit. They assured me at that time that if I showed up and did the work good things were going to happen,” he says. “They told me it was not going to happen overnight but if I stayed disciplined and showed up at the gym that I would reach all my goals.” Rueckl locked in, working out six days a week. The day of his scheduled transplant surgery, May 26, 2023, his weight was down to 224 pounds—a whopping 71-pound weight loss. Rueckl donates his kidney to a stranger Rueckl’s kidney went to a man named Hasan. The two did not know each other on the day of Rueckl’s surgery, and Rueckl did not know who was receiving his kidney. “There is a process to learning who your recipient is. It falls on the recipient…when Hasan contacted me, I wrote back immediately, and we met about seven months after the donation (on June 28, 2024),” says Reuckl. It was a life-changing moment. “When we met for the first time, it was a really emotional feeling that I don’t think I can truly put down in words,” he says. “But unlike receiving a cadaver kidney, this was a time to rejoice. I was healthy. He was healthy and our Becky was going to get a kidney, and she was going to be healthy also. It was just a wonderful experience.” Rueckl poses with his kidney recipient, Hasan. Rueckl’s stepdaughter receives a kidney Thanks to Rueckl’s kidney donation to Hasan, Becky was moved up the transplant list. Her first transplant (from her Uncle John) occurred in 2001. However, her body rejected it, and she did in-home peritoneal dialysis for about a year. Her second transplant (from a cadaver) happened on July 4, 2003. It was a success, but, by 2021, she went into rejection again. After years of waiting, a match was found. Rueckl poses with his wife Gail, stepdaughter Becky, and grandson Ethan. “Our daughter Becky was finally transplanted on April 30, 2025. It was a long wait after I had donated, but Becky was a tough match and this kidney is perfect for her,” Rueckl shares. “She is doing wonderfully. She is a registered dietitian, and is also a very good mother who attends every single baseball game her son Ethan plays in.” Today, Rueckl is 63-years-old, continues to lead a healthy lifestyle, and is committed to CrossFit. “My health and wellness has never been any better than it is today. I’ve settled in at 240 pounds. I had never done a pull up in my life, and I did 50 at the gym last week. I deadlift 425 pounds,” he says. “By donating the kidney to the NKR, I saved Hasan‘s life, Becky‘s life, and my life. I am healthier than I’ve ever been in my life.” The post Unhealthy dad lost 71 pounds to donate his kidney to a stranger appeared first on Upworthy.