By: Rosally Saltsman Jewish Press Wednesday, August 15, 2007
On July 3, 2007, 70-year-old Amos Salomon had a party. It wasn’t a birthday party, however, it was to celebrate his last donation of plasma at the Magen David Adom (MDA) National Blood Services at Tel HaShomer Israel in Ramat Gan. In his 52 years of blood donations, he had reached the national record of 260 blood and plasma donations.
“They were supposed to make me stop when I reached 70, but they let me continue another two months so I could break the record.”
Salomon started giving blood as a soldier in the Parachute Corps. He then made the army his career and continued to donate blood about three times a year. Later, he began giving plasma and trombocytes once a month. His two brothers were also blood donors and his parents were among the founders of the volunteer Blood Donors Association.
Members of the association, as well as staff at Magen David Adom, joined Salomon and his family where they heaped praise and blessings on him and presented him with an award for his priceless contributions.
But the greatest reward is the satisfaction that Salomon has from his donations. “Today I can say that more than hundreds of people were able to have operations because of my donations. Whole blood benefits up to three people as it’s broken up into plasma, trombocytes and red cells.
Salomon, has blood type is O+, which is considered the universal giver. While each type of blood has restrictions on who can receive it, O+ can be given to any blood type. This made Salomon a man in high demand.
“Many years ago, we were planning to go to the beach with the children, there was a phone call that they needed an emergency donation in Tel Aviv. We went there, two nurses took care of the kids and I gave blood directly to the man who needed the blood. In order no to embarrass him, they put up a screen between us. And then we went to the beach.”
More and more medical restrictions make giving blood difficult, which means that fewer people are being allowed to give.
Thank God, Salomon has never needed a transfusion himself. His doctor pronounced him hale and healthy and told him to keep on donating as long as they let him.
In Israel blood transfusions are especially important, because of terrorist attacks, when blood is needed immediately, in a certain area. Every year 287,000 portions of blood are donated in Israel. Blood is the gift of life, and he who saves one life is considered as if he saved the whole world. With hundreds of lives to his credit, Salomon has reason to feel good.
Amos Salomon will no longer be allowed to donate blood. That means someone needs to fill his shoes. If you would like to give blood, please contact your local Blood Bank. Rh blood types are in short supply and O+ is in high demand.
If you’re planning to visit Israel, why not put a stop at a blood bank on your itinerary. It will be the best memento you can have from Israel.
For more information about donating blood in Israel, contact Rina Bar-Or: 011 972-3-5300405/445 or e-mail rinab@mbais.co.il or visit the website: www.mbais.org.
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