Israeli liver-transplant patients meet foreign counterparts in Swiss Alps
The delegation hosted at the Nicholas Green Ski Camp included four Israelis, ages nine to 15, and about 50 youngsters from Britain, China, Greece, Morocco, Spain and elsewhere.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHUpdated: JANUARY 29, 2018 10:48Israeli youngsters after having underwent liver transplants Saturday at Schneider go to the Swiss Alps camp to mingle with counterparts from other countries(photo credit: COURTESY SCHNEIDER CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER)
A delegation of Israeli children and teenagers, who underwent liver transplants at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva, recently flew to the Nicholas Green Ski Camp in the Swiss Alps. For several years, Schneider has been sending a delegation of such children to the ski camp, a tradition made possible by the ongoing contributions of the board of directors of the Schneider Children’s Trust, which operates in the hospital.The delegation hosted at the camp included four Israelis, ages nine to 15, and about 50 youngsters from Britain, China, Greece, Morocco, Spain and elsewhere with the same medical history. The delegation was accompanied by Slavik Yeltsky, 22, who as a child received a kidney transplant at Schneider, and Khaled, the father of one of the liver-transplant patients who participated in the summer camp and is a paramedic.The Nicholas Green camp dedicates one week a year to the hosting of youngsters from all over the world who have undergone liver transplants. The vacation is of great importance to the children, most of whom are going abroad without their parents for the first time and enjoying a change of routine outside the hospital. The stay gives them a chance to find a common language and a better understanding of life before and after transplantation, while bridging gaps in languages and cultures.Schneider performs the vast majority of organ transplants done on Israeli children and has even performed several organ transplants simultaneously. Since the establishment of Schneider Children’s, more than 500 heart, lung, liver and kidney transplants have been performed, with success rates similar to those of the best medical centers in the world.
