--- title: "Boston Custodian Is Honored for Kidney Donation That Helped a Teacher’s Brother" description: "Andrew Allen, 53, gave his kidney to a stranger through a swap, which moved a Babson College student up the transplant list." author: "rews desk" published: 2026-10-16T23:46:54.910Z modified: 2026-10-17T07:32:33Z url: https://rews.cc/a/boston-custodian-is-honored-for-kidney-donation-that-helped--55194a language: en tags: ["health", "philanthropy", "donation", "us"] publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)" --- # Boston Custodian Is Honored for Kidney Donation That Helped a Teacher’s Brother *Andrew Allen, 53, gave his kidney to a stranger through a swap, which moved a Babson College student up the transplant list.* By rews desk · October 16, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/boston-custodian-is-honored-for-kidney-donation-that-helped--55194a ## In brief - Boston Arts Academy custodian Andrew Allen, 53, was honored as an ‘unsung hero’ at a surprise National Custodian Day event on Oct. 2 - He received proclamations from Gov. Maura Healey, Mayor Michelle Wu and Representative Ayanna Pressley - Mr. Allen applied to donate after a teacher told him his younger brother, Babson student Thomas Thermidor, needed a kidney - His kidney went to another patient in a swap, moving Mr. Thermidor up the list; Mr. Thermidor got a kidney on Aug. 20, 2025 - Mr. Thermidor graduated in May and now works in development and philanthropy at Mass General Brigham Andrew Allen, a night custodian at Boston Arts Academy who gave up a kidney so a colleague’s younger brother could get a transplant, was honored as an “unsung hero” on Oct. 2 at a National Custodian Day celebration held by the school’s foundation. Nobody told him it was coming. The Boston Arts Academy Foundation planned the award as a surprise, and Mr. Allen left with proclamations from Gov. Maura Healey, Mayor Michelle Wu and Representative Ayanna Pressley, [The Boston Globe reported](https://bostonglobe.com/2026/10/16/metro/kidney-babson-college-boston-arts-academy/). “I was in shock,” Mr. Allen, 53, told the Globe in a phone interview. “It was surreal.” In 2024, he had never met the man his donation would help, Thomas Thermidor, a Babson College student. He did know the student’s older brother, who is also named Thomas Thermidor but goes by Tom and taught geometry at the academy in the Fenway. The two had become friendly over Mr. Allen’s night shifts, and one evening about two years ago Mr. Allen noticed the teacher seemed down. Tom Thermidor told him his younger brother needed a kidney and that he had just been rejected as a donor. Mr. Allen went home, read up on kidney donation online and sent an application to the Mass General Living Donor Program that same night. ![A man sits at a wooden table at night, holding a small red heart beside an open laptop, with a glowing lamp, plants, and mug nearby.](https://rews.cc/img/1193121af3781096c4e55a92736cefa380eeeae7.webp) His blood type wasn’t an exact match for Mr. Thermidor’s. The hospital approved his kidney anyway, but for someone else. Through a swap, it went to another patient, and his donation moved Mr. Thermidor up the recipient list. In such paired exchanges, as [Brigham and Women’s Hospital describes them](https://www.brighamandwomens.org/surgery/transplantation/kidney-transplant/living-donor.page), a donor who is a poor match for a loved one gives to someone else in a “swap” or “chain” so that more than one patient gets a good match. Mr. Allen had his kidney removed on June 3, 2025. Mr. Thermidor received a kidney from an anonymous donor on Aug. 20, 2025. More than a year later, both men are healthy, according to the Globe. “Andrew has been a beacon of light in a place that was very dark,” Mr. Thermidor said. Both of his brothers had been turned down as donors, he said, and when Mr. Allen came along he “couldn’t believe it.” “When I finally met Andrew, I looked at him, and he looked like Jesus Christ,” said Mr. Thermidor, who lives in Norwood. “He is the most kind-hearted, selfless person I’ve ever seen.” Mr. Allen, a married father of two young adults, lives in Roslindale, runs, skateboards and identifies as an Orthodox Christian. He always made clear that the kidney was “a gift” he wanted to give, Mr. Thermidor said. Mr. Allen doesn’t want the credit. ![Watercolor illustration of hands holding two lit candles close together, with one hand shielding the flames against a dark blue background.](https://rews.cc/img/6bff184a267b0163954cbe31d12f8d5b66284ca0.webp) “It feels not right for me to take any credit, individually,” he said. “I’m just a regular schmuck. Anybody can do this. It’s been such a great experience.” Mr. Thermidor was born in Haiti and moved to Boston at 11, going through public schools in Hyde Park, Mattapan and Jamaica Plain. He had just turned 21 when headaches and chest pains started, and he thought it might be Covid-19. Once his breathing grew labored and he felt “really, really sick,” his girlfriend made him go to the hospital. Blood tests showed stage 5 kidney failure. He was on dialysis within three months. The kidney he carries isn’t Mr. Allen’s, but it came from a living donor. “It is really heavy; I have somebody else’s part living inside of me,” he said. He graduated in May and now works at Mass General Brigham as an associate coordinator in the development and philanthropy department. “I pretty much live and breathe thanks to Mass General,” he said. Someday, he said, he wants to give back without anyone knowing. “I’ve been really incredibly fortunate,” he said. “I would like to do things that are anonymous, being some sort of angel.”