Join our Community
Support ToI and remove all ads
Learn more
×

kidney transplants

Yonatan Rom, left, who donated his kidney to Reuven Tam, right, recover together following the transplant at Clalit-Beilinson Hospital on July 14, 2026. Reuven's brother, Eyal Tam, saved Rom's life in a terrorist attack on March 7, 2002. (Courtesy/Clalit-Beilinson Hospital)
July 22, 2026, 1:08 pm
Man donates kidney to brother of man who saved his life in 2002 terror attack
Altruistic organ donation sees survivor of Gush Katif shooting that killed 5 and wounded 23 matched with sibling of commander of emergency response team who neutralized terrorist
By Diana Bletter
Illustrative: People hold a certificate after breaking the Guinness World Record for most nationalities in an exhibition soccer match organized by FIFA, in Rabat, Morocco, November 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
December 3, 2025, 4:59 pm
Guinness World Records says it stopped taking records from Israel after October 7
‘In current climate, we are not generally processing record applications from Palestinian Territories or Israel,’ it says; Israel holds strawberry, mezuzah, pi, many other records
By Zev Stub
PROMOTED CONTENT
From the WebJune 25, 2025, 12:19 pm
Why do people have two kidneys? Maybe it’s so we can save a life
Could you save a life? Take Matnat Chaim’s short quiz to see if you might be eligible to donate a kidney and change someone’s world forever.
PROMOTED CONTENT
June 17, 2025, 8:07 am
Why do people have two kidneys? Maybe it’s so we can save lives
Matnat Chaim is revolutionizing kidney donation in Israel, connecting healthy donors with patients in need and giving hundreds a second chance at life each year.
By Aviva Gat
In this March 16, 2024, image courtesy of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, surgeons perform the world's first genetically modified pig kidney transplant into a living human. (Michelle Rose/Massachusetts General Hospital/AFP)
April 4, 2024, 8:58 pm
First person to undergo successful pig kidney transplant discharged from hospital
Doctors hope surgery at Massachusetts General will pave way for other similar procedures, as thousands die every year waiting for organ transplants
By Mike Stobbe
Arnon Segal donated a kidney on July 10, 2023, on the condition it would go only to a Jew. (Courtesy of Beilinson Hospital and Soroka Medical Center)
July 12, 2023, 8:11 pm
Right-wing journalist causes stir by announcing his kidney would go only to a Jew
Though such stipulations are not officially possible, individuals can bypass this through organizations that pair a donor with a recipient that matches their criteria
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Illustrative: Angel Cespedes, 14, who is in need of a kidney transplant, lies in bed feeling unwell after dialysis treatment at his home in Valles del Tuy on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela, November 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
August 18, 2022, 7:30 pm
Scientists alter kidney blood type, potentially increasing transplant availability
Study may have significant implications for patients from ethnic minorities, who are less likely to find a match for the majority of donated kidneys
By Tobias Siegal
US surgeons prepare to transplant kidneys from a genetically modified pig into the body of a deceased recipient in September 2021. (University of Alabama at Birmingham via AP)
January 20, 2022, 5:16 pm
After heart transplant, researchers successfully test pig-to-human kidney donation
US study shows no sign of rejection by donated body of brain-dead man, with experts saying string of breakthroughs are promising — but many hurdles remain
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
Prof. Eitan Mor of Sheba Medical Center inspects a kidney from Israeli woman Shani Markowitz, just before it was transported to the United Arab Emirates (courtesy of Sheba Medical Center)
January 18, 2022, 4:10 pm
Record number of organ transplants in 2021, as harvesting skills improve
Despite COVID-19 pandemic, there were 647 donations carried out last year, including a 30% increase in ‘altruistic’ donors who were not acquainted with the recipient
By Stuart Winer
A surgical team at the hospital in New York examines a pig kidney attached to the body of a deceased recipient for any signs of rejection, September 2021. (Joe Carrotta/NYU Langone Health via AP)
October 20, 2021, 9:01 am
US scientists successfully attach working pig kidney to human body
Decades-long quest to use animal organs for life-saving transplants takes major new leap as swine kidney successfully filters waste and produces urine without being rejected
By Carla K. Johnson
Prof. Eitan Mor removes a kidney of Israeli woman Shani Markowitz at Sheba Medical Center, for transplantation in the United Arab Emirates (courtesy of Sheba Medical Center)
July 28, 2021, 2:41 pm
3 women receive kidneys in Israel-UAE organ exchange, 1st with Arab state
Arrangement involving three families — two in Israel and one in Abu Dhabi — sees relatives secure life-saving surgery for loved ones by donating organs to others in need
By Nathan Jeffay
Idit Harel Segal ahead of her operation in June 2021 (Courtesy Idit Harel Segal)
June 30, 2021, 6:44 pm
How a staunch rightist gave her kidney to a Gaza boy — simply to do a good deed
Fighting furious objections from her family, Idit Harel Segal went through with the operation, hoping to live up to the morals her Holocaust-surviving grandfather taught her
By Tani Goldstein
Randa Aweis, 58, an Arab woman who has just received a kidney from Yigal Yehoshua, a Jewish man killed by Arab rioters in Lod, May 2021. Dr. Abed Halaila, head of the transplant department at Hadassah Medical Center, is standing next to her. (courtesy of Hadassah Medical Center)
May 20, 2021, 2:50 pm
Jewish riot victim’s kidney gives new lease on life to Arab woman
‘This Jewish kidney has now become part of me,’ says Randa Aweis, after transplant from Yigal Yehoshua, killed by Arab Israelis in Lod; ‘We’re just people, we need to live together
By Nathan Jeffay
Collage of a number of Matnat Chaim's kidney donors. (Screenshot: Channel 13)
April 9, 2021, 11:56 am
Israeli kidney donation nonprofit hits ‘world record-breaking’ 1,000 transplants
Matnat Chaim, which mainly facilitates altruistic living donor transplants between non-relatives, helps with 200 cases over past year since death of co-founder from COVID-19
By ToI Staff
Matnat Chaim founder Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Haber in Jerusalem, September 25, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
August 9, 2020, 4:03 pm
COVID-19 death of Israeli kidney nonprofit founder spurs record number of donors
Rather than crumble after Rabbi Yeshayahu Heber’s death in April, ultra-Orthodox group Matnat Chaim has facilitated 57 transplants, and looks to expand reach to secular Israelis
By Benjy Singer
Load More

Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community

Sign in or Register

Paying ToI Community members are invited to comment on articles
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By joining you agree to the terms and conditions
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community
Sign in or Register
Only ToI Community members can comment below articles
Forgot your password? / Send me a login link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.
Back to top
Never miss breaking news on Israel
Get notifications to stay updated
You're subscribed
image
Register for free
and continue reading
Registering allows you to manage your newsletters and alerts and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.