Last week, after four years on dialysis waiting for a kidney transplant, a 41-year-old man from Bethlehem received a new kidney from an Israeli family whose son had been declared brain dead. The successful procedure was conducted at Hadassah-Ein Kerem, where he is now recovering in the Intensive Care Unit. Ironically, the kidney previously transplanted from his mother was rejected.
When the family of a 38-year-old man who suffered a fatal stroke requested their son’s organs be donated, Israel's National Transplant Center sprung into action. Finding no suitable kidney transplant candidate in Israel, the search was extended to the Palestinian Authority. With the round-the-clock assistance of the National Transplant Center and the Israeli Civil Administration, an appropriate candidate was located. A mere 72 hours can transpire from the moment a kidney is removed from the donor until it is transplanted into the recipient, but the best results occur within the first 24 hours.
Walid Daadua was rushed to Hadassah-Ein Kerem where the Nephrologist Dr. Aharon Bloch prepared him for the surgery that was performed by Dr. David Aaronovitch from the Department of Surgery and Prof. Hadar Merhav, Director of Hadassah’s Transplant Unit, and anesthesiologist Dr. Valentin Levin.
The donor’s family emphasized that as far as they were concerned, they fulfilled a mitzvah and did not wish to publicize their identity. Family members said they were pleased the transplant was performed and a grateful for the special privilege of participating in “creating the mosaic of peace.”
“This case demonstrates the prominent humane brotherhood in the field of transplants,” says Prof. Merhav, “In many cases people from different nationalities and religions donate their organs willingly. In Hadassah we are, of course, glad to do all we possibly can in order to save lives.”