About the Department
The Department of Organ Transplantation– the only dedicated service in Israel
Rabin Medical Center has the number one transplantation program in Israel, performing over 70% of the organ transplants annually. A leader in kidney, lung, heart, liver and pancreas transplants, RMC boasts an active multiple organ and living-related donor program. Our hospital remains a pioneer in transplant procedures in the country, from the performance of Israel's first kidney transplant in 1964 and first heart transplant in 1968, the fifth institute in the world to do so, to the first small intestine transplant in 2014.
The Department of Organ Transplantation is the only dedicated organ transplant service in the country. It has the finest multi-discipline teams, curing and treating thousands of adult and pediatric children suffering from renal failure and acute liver diseases, enabling them to live positive, healthy lives for many years. The surgical capabilities, high technological level and personal commitment to saving lives places the Division at the forefront of medical progress and gives it international recognition.
Head of the division, Dr.Eviatar Nesher is a very experienced and renowned transplant surgeon, who leads the team that performs the majority of transplantations in Israel. He served as deputy head of the division for 7 years and was appointed head of the department in 2019 .
Dr. Nesher headed the team that performed the first two intestine transplants that took place in Israel, as well as live donor liver transplantations and "domino" transplantations. Dr. Nesher worked in one of the largest transplantation medical centers in the world in Florida, USA and has brought his vast experience and knowledge to the Rabin Medical Center. His division leads the transplantation field in Israel, both in quantity and quality and future innovations such as robotic kidney transplantations, research and other future academic researches.
Surgical activities: The Department's activities include kidney, liver, pancreas and intestine transplantations, and is based on excellent and innovative surgical care and modern surgical tools. RMC's Transplant Program also performs heart and lung transplants.
Pediatric Transplantation: The Department is the National Center for kidney, liver and intestine transplants in children, referred from all ends of the country.
Research activities: The Department's team takes part in international research studies on the subjects of prevention of organ rejection, identifying mechanisms leading to tolerance which negate the need for life-long anti-rejection medications - for this purpose we are presently creating a lab model for combined transplantation of kidney and stem cells, and more. The Department's Laboratory for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine performs innovative research in this field.
Preceptorship Program for Ph.D. students: The Department is currently developing an innovative preceptorship program in collaboration with the Feinberg College of Weizmann Institute, with the intention of working together on potential groundbreaking areas of research and development.
The Rabin Medical Center Organ Transplant Program – the leader in Israel:
- 70% of the organ transplants in Israel, including kidney, liver, heart, lungs and pancreas.
- 5,000 organ transplants at RMC until now
- 85% of the kidney transplants from a live donor, including altruistic donors
- 95% of the abdominal organ transplantations in children in Israel
- Virtually 100% of lung transplants
- Intestine transplants and complex liver resections
- 230 kidney transplants a year, 50 liver transplants a year
- Over 650 lung transplants until now
- 2,500 transplant recipients undergoing life-long follow-up
- 200 child transplant recipients undergoing life-long follow-up
- 1,300 candidates for kidney transplantation undergo evaluation
- 12,500 patient visits of transplant patients a year
