Israeli organization breaks world record for kidney donations
Since it was founded in 2009, Matnat Chaim has facilitated 1,000 donations. "Those who decide to donate a kidney are undeniably saving a life," says one organ recipient.
By Yehuda Shlezinger
398 WORDS
(April 5, 2021 / Israel Hayom) Israel celebrated a special milestone Sunday, as the Matnat Chaim non-profit organization, which encourages and facilitates living kidney donations, is about to break a world record by marking its 1,000th transplant.
Since Matnat Chaim, Hebrew for “Gift of Life,” was founded in 2019, the number of kidney donations in Israel has quadrupled.
The organization’s data reveal that about two-thirds of the donors are men, a third are women and 40 percent of all donors are teachers or educators. The organization’s work is estimated to have saved the state some 4 billion shekels ($1.2 billion) by decreasing the need for treatments, hospitalization and medication for patients with kidney disease.