JERUSALEM (VINnews) — At the age of three weeks, Yitzchak, the son of a charedi family, was found to be suffering from Biliary Atresia, a rare condition afflicting one in 15,000 children in which the gallbladder is blocked at birth, causing pressure on the liver and eventual dysfunction. After undergoing an operation to reattach the gall bladder, Yitzchak’s condition continued to dwindle and he was placed on a waiting list for a transplant.
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Yitzchak’s father Yaakov was preparing to give part of his own liver to his son, but in the meantime the Schneider hospital received word of a donor. During a complex operation at Soroka hospital, a liver lobe was transplanted into the six month old baby and he is now recovering in the pediatric department.
The parents heard about the liver donation on the same day that a soldier, Ori Jerbi, was killed in action in Gaza and his mother announced that his organs had been donated, including a liver lobe to a young baby. Realizing that this was their son’s donor, Yitzchak’s parents contacted the mother and thanked her for giving life to their son.
Ori Jerbi HyD
Jerbi’s mother Naomi Mor said that “On the way to the funeral we were informed that his liver had been transplanted in an infant and his kidney in a 6-year-old. In his life Ori always looked first at what others needed and then at his own needs, so I think this donation is very characteristic. For some people death is the end but we are conforted by the fact that in Ori’s merit children’s lives were saved.”
BD”H, may Ori rest in peace. May his family find strength to continue on and find comfort amongst the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. Lastly, may Hashem give strength to the children, who received Ori’s organs, to grow strong and have lasting peace in their lifetime.
In Israel, there is an organ donor card called a Cartis Edi that specifies which Rav is to be consulted regarding whether the individual is in a state where it is Muttar to remove organs for donation. This is obviously a complex area of Halacha, and a competent Rav MUST be involved – but with advances in medical knowledge and technology, organ donation is now often allowed by a number of Poskim – and is something all should consider.