Robertson Donates Kidney For Daughter

Basketball great Oscar Robertson donated a kidney Thursday to his 33-year-old daughter stricken with lupus.

Both were listed in good condition after the 6-hour transplant operation and are expected to leave University Hospital in four to five days.

“So far, both are doing beautifully,” said Dr. Roy First, medical director of the hospital’s transplant program. “The kidney is working well.”

Tia Robertson needed the kidney because of her chronic disease that affects the body’s organs.

“Anybody who knows Oscar would know that he would do anything for his family,” said Robert Brown, Robertson’s lawyer and friend. “I’m sure he’s grateful for the opportunity to be able to help.”

Oscar Robertson, 58, and older daughter Shana, 35, were found to be compatible donors, Brown said. But Robertson insisted that Tia take his kidney.

“Oscar is a lot older,” Brown said. “If Shana were to donate hers, which she was more than willing to do, it could jeopardize her ability to have more children. She has one. … Regardless, I think Oscar would have insisted on doing it.”

Robertson, a Cincinnati businessman, is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

He played 14 years in the NBA, the first 10 with the Cincinnati Royals and the final four with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was a 12-time All-Star and the MVP in 1964. He played on the NBA champion Bucks in 1970-71 with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.