Dr. Yonatan Halevy on the Importance of HODS
January 2016

[1 minutes 16 seconds]

Dr. Yonatan Halevy, MD, Director General, Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem

TRANSCRIPTION:
Yonatan: It’s a big mitzvah to sign a donor card. I think this is the place to mention the name Robby Berman and HODS – Halachic Organ Donor Society – here in the states that does a lot of Kiddush Hashem

Interviewer: What is the solution to overcoming hesitation to organ donation? How do you go about it? Is it just education – slowly, slowly, slowly?

Yonatan: Well if you are talking about this country, we do similar things in Israel by the Israeli Transplant Authority, which I mentioned that I chaired in the past. Societies like HODS are very important to disseminate the knowledge that I just mentioned. There are many myths and misconceptions about the Halachic approach to brain death, about what is brain death, and so on and so forth. So dissemination of information and again, talking to Rabbis who will talk about it.

Interviewer: Is there a terrible shortage of donor organs in Israel?

Yonatan: There is a shortage, yes. People die every year and they would not die if they didn’t have to wait.The statistics show that between 90-100 people would not die today if they had organs for transplantation annually in Israel. There is a problem here.