In house divided, Michigan fan receives kidney from his brother, an Ohio State fan

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Two Ohio brothers grew up rivals, with one being an Ohio State fan and the other a Michigan fan.

But when one needed a kidney transplant, the other stepped up immediately to be a living donor.

Steve Robison has been dealing with kidney disease for a little over a year. When he found out he needed a transplant his younger brother, Mike, offered his kidney.

The Robison brothers grew up in northwest Ohio. Steve was a Wolverines fan and Mike loved the Buckeyes.

“I never held it against him, but it wasn’t enough to convince me to be a Michigan fan, so we’ve always held that little bit of rivalry. We’ve had a sibling rivalry a little bit, we’ve had a rivalry of the college teams we like,” said Mike Robison.

Steve said he was a Michigan fan in a family of Buckeyes mostly just to go against the grain.

“I wanted to be a little bit different. I kind of wanted the teenage rival, just fun to stir up trouble,” said Steve.

Steve grew up to become a high school and college referee here in Columbus, so now he said he is unbiased when it comes to the rivalry, but Mike is still a diehard Buckeye even though he now lives in Arizona.

Steve was diagnosed with kidney disease last year and found out he needed a donor. Without hesitation, Mike volunteered one of his own kidneys.

“I wanted to be his kidney donor even though we didn’t always see eye to eye as siblings or as college football fans,” said Mike.

Steve said he was floored by the generous offer from his brother and he can’t wait to be on the other side of this procedure.

“It’s so giving of him, you know? I couldn’t obviously be to this point without him,” said Steve.

Steve’s kidney transplant is happening here in Columbus next Friday. Both brothers said they are a bit nervous, but they are excited for Steve to start his recovery.