Abraham Accords: UAE patient to get a kidney from Israeli woman

Abu Dhabi - Shani Markowitz Manshar, 39, is slated to undergo surgery this Wednesday to donate one of her kidneys.

The historic Abraham Accords will mark another milestone this Wednesday when an Israeli woman donates a kidney to a patient in the UAE.

Shani Markowitz Manshar, 39, is slated to undergo surgery this Wednesday to donate one of her kidneys, giving a second chance at life to a patient in Abu Dhabi as part of a wider organ donation programme between the two countries.

“There will be more organ transplants and medical tourism like this coming down the line in the next couple of months,” says Steve Walz, global media spokesperson for Sheba Medical Center who spoke exclusively with Khaleej Times.

The procedure is a three-way kidney exchange as part of the same donor programme between the two countries. Manshar’s mother is also in need of a kidney transplant and will be hospitalised at Sheba for her own procedure this week, while a patient at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa will receive a transplant from a donor in the UAE.

Following Wednesday’s three-hour operation which will be filmed in part according to Sheba’s spokesperson, Manshar’s kidney will be flown directly to Abu Dhabi making history as the first Israeli organ transplant to an Abu Dhabi resident.