Donating Life

April 26, 2018 in Guest Post

This week is the fourth week of the month.  For Reflections Off the Bimah, the fourth week features thought leaders drawn from throughout the Jewish world.  These special posts give you the opportunity to consider important opinions you may not readily encounter. 

Organ donation saves lives and Jewish law allows us to donate.  Currently, 3 people in our community are waiting for kidney transplants and you might be able to help.  Evan Sultan, Jan Maxwell, and Dan Yastrov all suffer from Chronic Kidney Disease and require a transplant.  The special nature of kidney transplants is that ‘live donors’ are possible.  Since we are born with two kidneys, but only require one for healthy living, we have the opportunity to give a kidney to another.

It is a profound gift.

The famous Talmudic verse from Sanhedrin says, “anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world.”  (Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5)  Watch this video to hear Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz’s experience of saving a life by donating one of his kidneys.

My hope is that we will inspire people within Beth El to consider becoming a donor.  To learn more visit: www.medstargeorgetown.org/LivingKidneyDonor