3-year-old Israeli’s kidney saves Palestinian boy

Health minister praises Noam Naor’s ‘noble, inspirational’ family 

By AARON KALMAN for Times of Israel 

When three-year-old Noam Naor fell out the window and was pronounced clinically dead 10 days ago, his parents decided to donate his organs. One kidney was given to another Israeli child. The other saved the life of a 10-year-old Palestinian.

The operation, carried out Sunday at the Schneider children’s ward at Petah Tikva’s Beilinson Hospital, was deemed successful.

Health Minister Yael German on Sunday praised the Naor family for the life-saving act, which she called “an example” for everyone.

“In my eyes, Noam’s parents are noble and an inspiration to us all,” German said. At the hardest moment of their life, they made a difficult decision that their son’s death would bequeath life to a Palestinian child.

“Their donation is a source of pride and an example of humanity and kindness,” the minister said.

The Palestinian boy had been treated with dialysis at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center for seven years before the match was found. The Health Ministry’s transplant center contacted Noam’s parents, and asked them if they’d be willing to donate the kidney to someone who wasn’t Israeli — specifically, a Palestinian.

“It doesn’t matter who gets the kidneys, so long as fewer children need to undergo dialysis treatments,” News1 quoted Noam’s father as saying.

The father of the boy who received the donation told the site he had “no words” that could express his feelings, but wanted to thank the donor’s family who gave his son “a new life after years of waiting.”