Marathon of Liver Transplants

A marathon of three liver transplants took place in Schneider Children's operating rooms this week

Three liver transplants took place in Schneider Children's operating rooms this week. Two operations, performed one day after the next, were in a boy aged 3 years, and a youngster aged 16½. All three transplants were made possible due to the donations of organs. Since the beginning of 2021, 10 liver transplants have been conducted in children at the hospital.

Harel Kochavi, 3½, from Ariel, suffered from a metabolic disease since birth. His parents were notified about the long-awaited donation and now Harel has a new lease on life.

The second liver lobe was implanted into a 3-year-old who suffered from a genetic liver disease, and the third liver lobe was transplanted into a 16½-year-old. The transplants were conducted by the transplant team at Schneider Children's, headed by Dr. Michael Gurevich.

Schneider Children's is among the few pediatric centers in the world able to conduct multiple organ transplantations. In order to perform a series of such complex operations in a short period of time, special preparedness is demanded of the transplant teams in the hospital which include the surgical suite, pediatric organ transplant surgeons, anesthetists, ultrasound technicians, surgical nurses, intensivists, cardiologists, gastroenterologists, nephrologists and the transplant coordinator.

Tanya Kochavi, Harel's mother, asked to convey her gratitude and said "we waited for such a long time for the transplant, and today we feel as if a miracle has occurred and Harel has been born anew. We are deeply grateful to the donor's family for their courageous act at such a difficult time, as well as the specialists at Schneider for their dedicated care of Harel. We call on everyone who is in doubt about organ donation, to do it and thus give new life to someone else who desperately needs it."

Schneider Children's conducts the majority of organ transplantations in children in Israel. Since its inception, the hospital has conducted more than 600 heart, lung, liver and kidney transplants in children with success on a par with leading medical institutions in the world.