Israel Active

Israel-based NGO Ezer Mizion now has over 1.1 million potential donors on its global database. Its stem cell transplants have now saved 5,000+ lives – almost 500 in 2023. Its support services provide hot meals, medical equipment, family and mental support, transportation to hospitals and much more.

A clinic dealing with post-trauma and related mental-health disorders was planned to be inaugurated in Tel Aviv University in about two years’ time. But due to the urgent need for treatment following Oct7, it has now been launched on temporary premises. Initial patients will be IDF reservists and other adults.

Before the Brazilian President’s hateful speech, his country’s medical authorities approved the home ultrasound system from Israel’s Pulsenmore (see previously) for use in reducing pre-natal fatalities and unnecessary visits to hospital by pregnant mothers.

The US FDA has granted “orphan” status on BX004 from Israel’s BiomX (see previously) for the treatment of chronic lung infections suffered by cystic fibrosis patients. Orphan designation is given for rare conditions that have no current treatment.

The US FDA has just granted Breakthrough Device status to Israel’s PI-Cardia (see previously) for its ShortCut ™ device that facilitates Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedures.

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) have developed a new method of analyzing pancreatic cell types and help discover diabetes early. Their DNA methylation-based analysis is far more accurate than current analysis that relies on protein markers.

Surgeons at Israel’s Emek Medical Center in Afula successfully removed a huge Wilms tumor (see previously) weighing 1.3 kg from a four-year-old child. The tumor, in the right kidney, measured 16 cm by 12 cm and constituted over 7% of the girl’s body weight.

Tel Aviv University researchers found a method of preventing memory deterioration in the animal model of Alzheimer’s disease. They detected physiological changes that appear 10 to 20 years prior to cognitive decline. They also hope to prevent cognitive issues from anesthesia.

The daughter of an Egyptian official was injured in a traffic accident and hospitalized in Cairo. She was then transferred to Hadassah Hospital, where there is a dedicated ward for complex trauma in children. Israel approved the transfer as a humanitarian gesture.

Wounded IDF soldiers from Gaza are being treated at the new Gandel Rehabilitation Center in Jerusalem, part of the Hadassah Medical Organization, which opened in January 2024. Construction sped up after Oct 7, thanks to $29 million from the government plus $5.5 million donations.