About half a million patients suffer from rare diseases in Israel. Only five special treatment centers recognized by the Ministry of Health operate throughout the country.
There is great importance in early genetic diagnosis for these diseases. About 10,000 rare diseases are recognized in the world, and in Israel, unfortunately, there is a very high number of patients with these diseases, compared to the rest of the Western world. The Coalition for Rare Diseases in Israel is an umbrella organization that brings together over 70 associations for rare diseases.