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Corneas of Israeli terror victim transplanted to two people

The corneas were transplanted into an 81-year-old woman and a 75-year-old man.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

The corneas of an Israeli terror victim were transplanted into patients on Sunday, Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital announced on Monday.

Chen Amir, a 42-year-old municipal patrolman, was killed during a terror attack in downtown Tel Aviv on August 5.

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 Center said that these tissues will benefit about 50 patients. Chen and his wife Vered signed organ donation cards

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 hitting Bakr.

Amir, 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.