An American doctor who has raised money to establish a liver transplant unit at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, expressed anger here Sunday over government red-tape and delays in setting it up and warned that funds might not be forthcoming if the delays persisted.
Dr. Zalman Shapira of Pittsburgh, who heads a committee that raised $500,000 in cash and has pledges for an additional $1.4 million, also said on an Israel Television interview that he would advise the surgeon slated to head the liver transplant unit, Dr. Yigal Kamm, to seek a position abroad.
Kamm, who was trained in liver transplant procedures at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, was described by Shapira as one of the world’s top 10 liver surgeons. He has received many attractive offers for work abroad and “If I were him, I would be getting very impatient and would consider taking up one of those offers,” Shapira said. Kamm was not available for comment.
Kamm performed the first liver transplant operations in Israel last October. The first recipient, Mira Schichmanter, 40, died on November 8 from complications. The second recipient, Eliahu Schreier, 59, died on November 13. No further transplant surgery has been performed since then.
Shapira said his committee planned to bring American donors to Israel for the dedication of the unit at Rambam next April 22. He said he had discussed the matter of delays with Health Minister Shoshana Arbeli-Almoslino who also expressed impatience with official foot-dragging. Shapira said she was concerned that once American aid terminated, the Health Ministry would be called on to allocate large sums to continue the liver transplant program.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
