Capt. Shahar Gamla, 23, was critically injured by an explosive drone in Lebanon and later died from his injuries at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, the military announced on Saturday.
Following confirmation of his death, his family requested that his organs be donated, enabling several patients awaiting transplants to be saved or see their conditions improved.
According to the National Transplant Center, the transplants took place on Sunday at multiple hospitals. Gamla’s heart was transplanted into a 54-year-old man at Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva, and his lungs were transplanted into a 47-year-old man at the same hospital.
His liver was transplanted into a 69-year-old man at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, while a liver lobe was transplanted into a 7-year-old girl at Schneider Children’s Medical Center. His kidneys were transplanted into a 37-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman at Beilinson.
Gamla’s corneas have not yet been transplanted, and his skin was donated to the National Skin Bank, which treats burn victims. Post-mortem skin donation is used in cases of severe burns or other skin injuries, providing temporary or therapeutic coverage for large areas of the skin.
'There is nothing greater than organ donation'
Leah, Shahar’s mother, said after the organ donation: “There is nothing greater than organ donation; it lets Shahar live on in other people. With joy and great love.”