MIDDLE EAST: The family of a Palestinian boy killed in an accident has helped save the lives of four Israeli children by donating his organs.
Qaher Aoude (11) died when he fell off the roof of his home near Nablus. His family authorised the donation of his organs on Tuesday.
"We want Israelis and Americans to know that while the Israeli army kills Palestinians we give life to Israeli children," said Murad Aoude yesterday, one of Qaher's 17 siblings .
Schneider Children's Hospital in the Israeli city of Petah Tikva said a 13-year-old girl suffering from cystic fibrosis received Qaher's heart and lungs while her own functioning heart was transplanted into another young patient.
This was the first time a so-called "domino transplant" was performed in Israel, a hospital statement said. The boy's liver and kidneys were given to two other children.
The organs of several Israelis - some of them killed in suicide bombings and other Palestinian attacks - have been donated to Palestinians since the violence erupted in September 2000, but donations the other way dropped off dramatically, Israeli health officials said.
"When \ organs were donated it was in secret," said Tamar Ashkenazi of Israel's national transplant centre. "This may be the first time since it began it has been done publicly."