Twelve patients in some 24 operating rooms in various hospitals across the country, received their new kidneys owning to an effort made by Matnat Chaim.
By DANIEL NISINMANKidney transplant operation at Rambam Hospital in Haifa(photo credit: PIOTR FLITR)
Over the third week of August, twelve kidney transplant operations were carried out in Israel, setting an unprecedented state and possibly worldwide record, according to Israel Hayom.Twelve patients in some 24 operating rooms in various hospitals across the country, received their new kidneys owing it to an effort made by Matnat Chaim ("Gift of Life"), a volunteer organization dedicated to encouraging people who are suitable for kidney donations to save lives.The organization was established by Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Heber, who died of coronavirus in last April.Rachel Heber, the wife of the deceased Rabbi and the founder of Mtant Chaim, said that "when we started the organization in 2008, we did 4 transplants a year, thinking we hit a record... what happened this week is extraordinary and very gladdening."Since the death of Heber's husband, Mtant Chaim successfully assisted in seventy-three transplants.The ages of the donors and patients ranges from thirty-five to fifty-eight, all coming from different backgrounds carrying different stories."Every single donor offers me solace. The feeling that my husband goes on living through them," added Heber.Currently, there are 5,000 dialysis patients in Israel, 900 out of which are fit for kidney transplant.