After being told she was too overweight to donate a kidney to her son, Xiang Jinnong in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province, dropped nearly 10 kilograms in four months and successfully made the donation to save him, CCTV news reported on Tuesday.

Xiang's son, 28-year-old Tian Chao, was diagnosed with uraemia in September 2021 and was told he needed a kidney transplant.

In the past two years, he underwent dialysis to sustain his life. Then after some tests he got the good news that his mother's kidney was the perfect match for him. However, Xiang, who weighed nearly 150 kg and had underlying diseases such as fatty liver, needed to lose at least 10 kg to be able to donate the kidney.

"He is my son. I must save him," Xiang said. Then she set a goal of running 8 kilometers daily. She woke up at 6 every morning and went for a run. When she returned home from work in the evening, she ran again. Except for days when she felt unwell, she never missed her morning run, persisting until the kidney transplant surgery.

Tian Chao accompanied his mother on the runs when he didn't have to go to the hospital. Sometimes, due to lack of physical strength, he walked behind his mother. Thanks to her love of her son, Xiang was able to lose 10 kg before his surgery.

On December 26, 2023, first, Xiang underwent a surgery, which lasted from around 7 am to after 11 am, to remove the kidney, and then Tian underwent more than six hours of kidney transplant operation. Currently, the mother and son are in good conditions.

"My mother gave me life twice!" said Tian.