Corneas of Israeli terror victim transplanted to two people
The corneas of Israeli terror victim Chen Amir have been transplanted into patients on Sunday, Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital announced yesterday.
Chen Amir Photo: Courtesy the family
The corneas were transplanted into an 81-year-old woman and a 75-year-old man.
The family donated Amir’s corneas and tissues. The Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Centre said these tissues will benefit about 50 patients. Chen and his wife, Vered signed organ donation cards.
Amir, a 42-year-old municipal patrolman, was killed during a terror attack in Tel Aviv on August 5.
The terrorist, identified as 22-year-old Kamal Abu Bakr, a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, had aroused the suspicion of Amir and his partner, who approached him. Bakr fired at the guards with a handgun, critically injuring Amir.
The other guard returned fire, fatally hitting Bakr.
Amir, the father of three girls, was laid to rest at Kibbutz Reim in the Negev.
Israeli interest in organ donations rose sharply after the organs of Leah (Lucy) Dee were donated to five patients in April. The 48-year-old Dee and daughters Maya and Rina were killed in a Palestinian drive-by shooting in the northern Israel on April 7.
Leah’s husband, Rabbi Leo Dee, has been outspoken about the importance of donating organs.
Israelis were moved by an emotional encounter between the grieving Dee family and the grateful recipients. A similar meeting took place in June between the family of brothers Yagel and Hillel Yaniv and the recipients of their corneas.
The Yanivs were killed in a drive-by shooting in the Palestinian village of Huwara in February.
The surge of interest in organ donations could save lives as there are not enough organs to meet the needs for patients who need liver, heart, lung, pancreas or kidney transplants, the National Transplant Center said.
Of the 656 Israeli organ transplants in 2022, 326 came from living donors, while 330 came from people who passed away, according to National Transplant Center figures.
Chen Amir was the first cousin of the Chair of the Melbourne-based Anti-Defamation Commission, Dvir Abramovich.
Dvir told J-Wire: “My cousin Chen was a Zionist and a patriot who embodied so much that is best in Israel, and his daring actions that saved the lives of many others, are now enshrined in the scroll of Israel’s fallen heroes.
Over the last week, a whole nation has been grieving with us when the story of a fearless warrior who walked tall amongst men, closed so tragically. And that ending, in which Chen shed his blood to spare others, was worth our tears, our grief, and our shattered hearts.
But the people of Israel and the entire Jewish world are also rightly celebrating his life and his consequential sacrifice.
People speak of virtues like service and valour– these weren’t just words for Chen– it was a truth that he had lived.
We were always in awe of Chen’s big and pure heart, commitment to the mission, and duty to Am Yisrael and to his comrades, whether it was in the IDF or the Israeli police force.
He was an extraordinary husband to Verde and a dedicated father to Romy, Mika and Emma– daughters who will grow up knowing that their father was a Gibor Yisrael.
And he was a cousin that we all looked up to, loved and revered because he made us all better just by being himself.
We admired the example he set in his life: pride in everything he did, standing up for what he believed in, a lack of self-pity, dogged resilience, a can-do attitude and concern for others before himself. As my cousin, Adia, Chen’s sister said, “He always said that if anything happened to him, he’d want his organs to be given to others.”
This final act was the ultimate embodiment of who Chen was and though they have buried Chen’s body, they will not bury his spirit, his voice, his message, his good works, his depths of courage and his love for family and the nation of Israel.
RIP. We will never forget you.”
