An unprecedented record was broken this week, when in 24 operating rooms across the country, the lives of 12 patients were saved
Guy Bauman donated a kidney to Nidal Paum and his father Imad donated a kidney to Miriam Cohen
This is one of the most exciting and important records broken in the country, and probably also an unprecedented world record. During the four days of the past week, from Sunday to Wednesday, 12 kidney transplants were performed in Israel.
The late Rabbi Yeshayahu Haber, who headed the Matan Chaim organization, an organization that encourages kidney donations to save lives, passed away last April after contracting the corona virus. When 24 patients waiting for a kidney donation were saved in 24 operating rooms at Rambam, Ichilov, Sheba, Hadassah and Beilinson hospitals.
"When we started the 'Gift of Life' activity in 2008, we did four transplants a year and thought we had conquered Everest," says Rachel Haber, the wife of Rabbi Yeshayahu Haber, who has continued to run the organization since his death.
"Thank God, today, in a week that is considered 'thinned', there are two, three or four transplants a week. What happened last week is really special, unusual and very happy. Since the death of my husband there has been a great boom of donors, in fact, since his death there have been 73 transplants. "This past week has been dramatic on an international scale. I don't know if there have ever been a number of such transplants in the world."
Among the donors are exciting and special stories such as a patient who received a kidney after many years of waiting, a donation from a man from Nazareth to a woman from Netivot, and more. Among the donors are two school principals. The age of the donors is from 35 to 58.
"Father of Kidney Donations": Rabbi Yeshayahu Haber was laid to rest
The rabbi who saved hundreds of patients through kidney donations - fell ill in Corona
"Every kidney donated unites the people"
"Each of the donors is my consolation," says Haber, "the feeling is that my husband continues to live through them, our factory continues to live. I really feel that in his death he commanded us life."
She said, "Not just 12 people have come back to life - it's whole families, close and distant circles who are getting their lives back. It's really exciting."
Haber says that in the State of Israel there are more than 5,000 dialysis patients and about 900 of them are eligible for transplantation. "There is mobilization. We feel it. Our vision is that there will be no such list."
