Louisiana veteran donates kidney to wife after COVID-19 caused her kidneys to fail

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA/Gray News) - The Allens are a match in more ways than one. The Shreveport couple shares both love and kidneys.

KSLA reported that LeVar Allen served in the U.S. Navy from 1998 to 2001. His wife, Brandy Allen, says he already does so much for her and the country, but he could not just stand by when Brandy Allen was diagnosed with COVID-19 in April of 2020.

The Allens are connected in more ways than one; LeVar donated his kidney to his wife, Brandy,... — The Allens are connected in more ways than one; LeVar donated his kidney to his wife, Brandy, after hers failed due to COVID-19.(Baylor Scott & White)

“Instantly, I knew that I was going to [donate my kidney],” LeVar Allen said, smiling. “I love her.”

The virus had attacked Brandy Allen’s kidneys.

“By day four, I started to feel very ill. My husband took me to the hospital and they said, ‘You’re in kidney failure,’” Brandy Allen explained.

Since that moment, Brandy Allen has been on dialysis. She has visited clinics in Shreveport; Jackson, Mississippi; and Dallas, Texas.

“It was a three to five-year waiting period,” LeVar Allen said.

“You also get microvascular clotting, a vascular disease, from it, so you get little clots all over the place. If they happen to go to your kidney, then your kidney doesn’t get the blood supply it’s supposed to,” Dr. David Arnold said.

Dr. Arnold performed the transplant for the couple at Baylor University Medical Center earlier in early July. The couple is staying in Dallas for a few more weeks while they recover.