Itıs not every day that one hears about this kind of
dispute, in which the members of a particular family vie to
donate his/her kidney to their father, who needs a
transplant. No compromise or agreement is in sight, as no
one is willing to forego the privilege, and the decision is
brought to the gedolei haposkim.
This is precisely what happened in the family of UTJ Knesset
member, Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz. We wouldn't have reported this
interesting incident (since our paper doesn't deal with
public figures' private matters) if not for Rabbi Ravitz's
personal request to raise the issue in the paper because of
its educational implications.
Rabbi Ravitz had been suffering for a number of years from a
kidney problem. His doctors recommended that he undergo a
transplant. In such cases, it is best to use a kidney
donated by a family member. Medical examinations indicated
that the kidney of his wife was incompatible with her
husband. As a result, twelve potential donors remained:
their children. But from the beginning, Rabbi Ravitz did not
want any of his seven daughters to be the donor, as there
may be childbearing difficulties due to the surgery. That
left his five sons as candidates, and each wanted the
mitzvah.
Rabbi Ravitz decided to bring the matter to the gedolei
haposkim, who deliberated on the matter for a number of
days and told him that the issue could not be fully decided
halachically. They did, however, determine that the claims
of the oldest sons, Reb Moshe and Reb Shimshon, bore more
weight than those of the other brothers. They suggested that
the two hold a lottery. One day the entire Ravitz family
convened: the father, his wife and their twelve children.
The subject: the lottery which would determine which of the
two older sons would donate a kidney to their father. The
winner was the oldest son, Reb Moshe.
The two were hospitalized last week: the son for the removal
of his kidney, the father for the transplant. Before the
operation, Rabbi Ravitz said that he felt fortunate to have
merited such children, who so strongly desired to help him
regain his health.
The donation of a kidney to a family member involves
absolutely no health risks. Doctors say that after a very
brief recovery period, the donor is back on his feet and
continues functioning regularly--with one kidney--for the
rest of his life.
Rabbi Ravitz wanted to publicize his story so that anyone
who needs a kidney transplant should know that there is no
need to hesitate accepting a kidney from family members. The
operation succeeded bisiyato diShmaya with no further
complications. We wish Rabbi Ravitz a speedy recovery, many
years of good health and strength to continue being active
on behalf of the public.
