By Michael D. Clark
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Shortly after his release from the hospital in 1997, an emotional Oscar Robertson broke into tears while talking about donating a kidney to his daughter. Robertson said Saturday that he has not experienced any trouble from the loss of his kidney. The Enquirer file

Basketball great Oscar Robertson's greatest "assist" came off the basketball court - years after he ended his Hall of Fame career - when he donated a kidney to his daughter in 1997.

The personal sacrifice allowed the middle of his three daughters to rebound from the failure of her kidneys.

Robertson said Saturday that he has suffered no ill effects from his surgery.

In 1997, news of the former University of Cincinnati and NBA star's kidney donation made national headlines, as did his emotions regarding his daughter as he later stepped into the spotlight to discuss his decision.

And though some kidney donors are reporting that their health was permanently damaged, Robertson isn't among them.

"Other then feeling uncomfortable immediately after the surgery, I don't seem to have any ill effects," said the 64-year-old Cincinnati businessman, who is hailed as one of the all-time greatest guards in both the college and professional ranks.

Robertson, owner and chief executive officer of Orchem Inc. in Cincinnati, remains active by working out, jogging and occasionally shooting baskets or playing a round of golf.

He looks back on his organ donation experience, which required a six-hour operation that left him with a partially removed rib and an 18-inch scar, as not an ordeal but the proper decision of any father who loves his children.

He was so impressed with the donation process and the team of doctors at Cincinnati's University Hospital that he now volunteers as a spokesman for the Kidney Foundation of America.

E-mail mclark@enquirer.com