L-R: Dr. Gidi Sahar with the transplant patient and his mother.

For the first time in Israel, and one of the only few times worldwide, Rabin Medical Center achieved a successful heart and kidney transplant, saving a critically ill young man who had only days to live.

Dr. Gidi Sahar, Head of the Heart and Lung Transplant Unit, part of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department and directed by Prof. Bernardo Vidne, said that the six-hour operation was extremely difficult and complicated: "We are actually talking about two separate transplants that then needed to be integrated. Until now, few such organ transplants have been carried out in the world. This transplant procedure places Rabin Medical Center alongside foremost transplant facilities worldwide."

This twenty-year-old patient and his family had been praying for a miracle for quite some time. At only six years old, he had to have one of his kidneys removed due to a malignant tumor. And if that wasn't enough suffering for a small child, he also underwent chemotherapy that caused damage to his heart, his remaining kidney and lungs. Six months ago, his situation began to deteriorate rapidly, and he was hospitalized with heart, lung and liver failure. Today, thanks to the transplant, the patient is resting comfortably and is in stable condition.

Additionally, the lungs of the same donor gave life to a 19-year-old boy who had cystic fibrosis and had been waiting one year for a transplant. During this time, he lived connected to an oxygen tank, which had become his constant companion and friend. He now can look forward to a normal and independent life, including taking a breath of fresh air in the beautiful outdoors.