Robin Roberts exits 'GMA' with a promise to return

NEW YORK (AP) — Robin Roberts has said goodbye to ABC's "Good Morning America," but only for a while.

The "GMA" anchor made her final appearance Thursday before going on medical leave for a bone marrow transplant.

Roberts' departure was first planned for Friday, but she told viewers she chose to exit a day early to visit her ailing mother in Mississippi.

In June, she first disclosed that she has MDS, a blood and bone marrow disease. She will be hospitalized next week to prepare for the transplant. The donor will be her older sister, Sally-Ann Roberts, who was on hand for Thursday's emotional send-off.

There's no timetable for when Roberts will be back at "GMA," but she promised she'll return "as soon as I can."