Ex-Mossad chief returns to Israel after liver transplant

Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan on Saturday returned to Israel following a liver transplant in Minsk, Belarus.

Dagan, 67, was reportedly in stable condition but was hospitalized at an unidentified Israeli hospital to recover. Following the operation earlier this month, it was reported that he was in serious but stable condition, though at one stage Belarussian hospital staff were quoted saying they feared for Dagan’s life.

Reports that the former head of Mossad underwent a liver transplant in Belarus broke earlier in the month. He spent two weeks in a Belarus hospital for the operation and recovery. According to Israeli media reports, Dagan could not receive a liver transplant in Israel because of his age.

National Transplant Center rules dictate that recipients can only wait for a liver transplant until 65-years-old. In the past decade, the center’s committee for exceptional cases has not approved a single transplant for a patient over the age of 65 either.

Approximately 50 liver transplants are conducted each year in Israel, and the waiting list is about 160 people long, according to a Haaretz report.