In a carefully coordinated chain of surgeries, Israeli and Cypriot doctors performed eight kidney transplants in a day-long marathon of life-saving procedures, Israeli medical officials announced on Wednesday
In all, five Israelis and three Cypriot citizens received a new kidney on Monday.
“In Israel, we all are kind of relatives, and it makes the chance of the presence of the antibodies in the organs of possible donors and recipients higher,” Dr. Tamar Ashkenazi, director of the Israel National Transplant Center, told The Press Service of Israel.
“Israel has agreements with Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Austria, and the Emirates, which means we share information with them about possible donors and recipients. Anytime a patient in Israel is found to be compatible with a kidney from a donor in any of these countries, a computer system starts to look for the ‘pair’ transplant, where an Israeli donor can donate a kidney to a recipient in this country. If there is a match, we start the procedures,” she explained.