"IT'S down to me" – those are the words of the Mayor of Worcester as he awaits test results which will reveal whether he can donate a kidney to potentially save the life of his young daughter.

Councillor Jabba Riaz’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Zoya, was diagnosed with Congenital Nephrotic Syndrome in January 2017 and both of her parents were initially identified as possible matches.

The Cathedral ward councillor and his wife Sajeeda Begum then embarked on a gruelling bid to lose weight last summer to give them the best chance of avoiding complications during surgery.

However, with Zoya’s mum being later ruled out as a match, Cllr Riaz emerged as his daughter’s best chance and told us yesterday “it’s down to me.”

In the meantime, the toddler’s condition is improving, and her medication has been reduced, which doctors have said is “extraordinary for her age and condition.”

“Her kidneys aren’t leaking as much protein as before and she is full of life,” said Cllr Riaz. “We can see on graphs her kidneys are still deteriorating but not as much as before.”

Zoya has spent the majority of her life with doctors “prodding and poking her” which she has got used to, said Cllr Riaz, but he added: “I’m sure it will be a relief not to have to have injections, though, as she does always start to cry when that happens.”

He said his daughter also must be woken up repeatedly in the night to ensure she gets medication at specific times, while she is very susceptible to infections and often has a cold.

With the help of John Clarke and his team at Worcester personal training studio Fit3Sixty, Cllr Riaz – who will be replaced as mayor on Tuesday when the new city council meets – has lost around 10kg since July in order to get into the ideal BMI range for the operation.

In April he had second stage testing at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and if the results come back positive, he will move into the final stages, which includes CT scans, before a potential operation in February or March.

“My daughter’s condition has improved, and they’ve delayed the operation, which was originally going to be September, which means me staying on the straight and narrow a bit longer,” he said.

“Making drastic lifestyle changes for a full year has been the hardest part, while trying to balance my work life and council life and family life.

“You go to all these mayoral events where there’s always food and you have to really fight against the temptation.”

Weighing around 102kg last summer, Cllr Riaz was told he needed to get down to between 85 and 88kg, and with operation dates changing twice he’s had ups and downs but has remained within the target range.

Mr Clarke has put the mayor through his paces, with group high intensity interval training sessions as well as one-to-one heavy lifting mixed with practical exercises.

“When he started, it was a standing start, he didn’t do much sport,” said the personal trainer. “As with everybody, the first couple of weeks it’s hard to know how hard to push yourself and how to get the most out of the sessions.”

He said that since then, the mayor has shown plenty of inner strength and should now be able to stay in shape in the long run and not just for the operation.

For the first time in his life, Cllr Riaz has been able to go running, completing an unofficial half marathon in two hours and five minutes.

He said: “I just have to stay focused because there’s been a combination of ups and downs, but John has told me as long as your average weight is below where you started, you’re on the right path.

“Life is a rollercoaster, things happen, you might decide you can't make training one day and then you decide to have an extra piece of cake, all these little things add up but you’re just fooling yourself.

“These little decisions make a difference to the numbers on the scales.”

Cllr Riaz wanted to thank everyone who has sent him messages of support over the last year.