Nechama Rivlin, wife of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, gets lung transplant
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin’s wife, Nechama, 73, received a new lung on Monday after being matched with a donor: 19-year-old Yair Yehezkel Halabli, who drowned on Friday while diving in Eilat.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin’s wife, Nechama, awarded certificates of appreciation to 150 young people with disabilities who will finish their national service, July 4, 2017. Credit: Meir Goldstein via Wikimedia Commons.
“Nechama Rivlin underwent a lung transplant today at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah,” said the president’s spokesperson in a statement.
The spokesperson added that her condition was stable following the several-hour-long procedure.
Halabli’s sister, Amit, told the Israeli news site Walla that “it is very moving that my brother’s lung was transplanted into the body of the president’s wife, and I wish her a full recovery. We will be happy to meet with the president’s wife and the president after she has recovered from the operation.”
Rivlin, 73, has been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a respiratory disease in which scar tissue forms in the lungs, causing difficulty to breathe. In public, she usually carries an oxygen tank with her.
JNS
