Ohio son, father have kidney/pancreas transplants

GAHANNA, Ohio (AP) — Moses Allen said he doesn’t care much about pain.

So the 36-year-old tattoo artist didn’t fear the kidney/pancreas transplant in 2007 that rescued him from dialysis and gave him back his strength.

His father, however, is wired a little differently.

“I said, ‘Man, I don’t want anyone opening me up like that,”’ said 55-year-old Artis Allen, who, like his son, ended up on dialysis for damage caused by poorly controlled Type 1 diabetes.

It was Artis Allen’s memory of how the transplant transformed his oldest son — and a little convincing from his son — that got him to Ohio State University Medical Center last month for his kidney/pancreas transplant.

Dr. Mitchell Henry, chief of transplantation there, said he had never heard of a father and son who both had a kidney/pancreas transplant. No national data are kept on that, so it’s impossible to know whether the Allens are the only such pair in history.