Two complex transplant surgeries were performed at Schneider Children’s on Saturday night, February 13, 2010, immediately after receiving word that the organ donations were found suitable for transplantation. 9-year-old girl Amelia received a new heart on Valentine’s Day, while a 14-year-old girl received a new kidney. The complex surgeries ensued throughout the night and following day. Both children are in stable condition and recovering well.

Amelia suffered from cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease) and had been under treatment for several years in the Cardiology Institute at Schneider Children’s headed by Dr. Einat Birk. The transplant surgery was performed by Dr. George Frenkel, senior cardiac surgeon at Schneider Children’s and Dr. Beni Medalion, Director of the Heart and Lung Transplantation Unit at Schneider and Rabin Medical Centers. They were assisted by Dr. Yacov Katz, Director of the Department of Anesthesiology at Schneider Children’s. Amelia is recovering to the satisfaction of doctors in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit headed by Dr. Ovdi Dagan; her condition is stable and she is breathing on her own.

Amelia’s mother expressed her deep gratitude to the family who agreed, at a time of great personal pain and sorrow, to the organ donation and thus saved her daughter’s life. Amelia’s mother also said that her daughter’s greatest love is horse-riding and that she intends to return to it as quickly as possible.

The 14-year-old kidney recipient suffered from kidney failure and had undergone regular dialysis for the past two years in the Dialysis Unit at Schneider Children’s. The transplant surgery was performed by Dr. Ran Steinberg, Director of the Pediatric Organ Transplantation Unit, assisted by anesthesiologist Dr. Yakov Katz. Following surgery, the girl was hospitalized in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit headed by Dr. Tommy Schonfeld. Follow-up care is being conducted by the medical team in the Nephrology Institute headed by Dr. Miriam Davidovits. The transplants were coordinated by transplant coordinator, Nurse Rachel Beregrin.

Schneider Children’s Medical Center performs the majority of organ transplantations in children in Israel. Since its establishment, more than 300 heart, lung, liver and kidney transplantations have been carried out in infants, children and adolescents, with success rates equaling those of the best medical centers in the world.

February 2010