Matnat Chaim recently celebrated its 1000th kidney donation.
Over 1,000 Israelis from all over the country decided to donate their kidneys to strangers through our organization. Our donors are healthy volunteers who have decided to part with one of their kidneys solely in order to help others and save lives, with no monetary compensation.
Thanks to our donors, Israel is ranked fourth in the world in living kidney donations, and first in the world in altruistic donations (donations between strangers). According to the recently published GODT index, there are about 29 kidney donors for every million people in Israel, while in the United States the number is 21, in Switzerland 13 and in France only 8.
The number of donors through Matnat Chaim is increasing every year – from 4 donors in 2009 to over 180 in 2020. The organization aims to help every donor, regardless of religion, race or gender, in order to achieve his or her goal of donating a kidney and saving a life. Over 95% of transplants are successful, adding an average of 15-20 years of life to each transplant recipient.
Matnat Chaim’s staff and volunteers mentor the donors throughout the process, through the extensive medical tests, during the hospitalization and surgery, and through the recovery period. Kidney donors must be at least 26 years old, very healthy, and capable of making such a significant decision in a safe and educated fashion.
More details about the decision to donate a kidney can be read here.