Hundreds of heart and lung transplant patients, along with their families and the medical teams that saved their lives, gathered recently at a special celebration arranged by Rabin Medical Center.

Though their futures once seemed dismal, their lives had taken a dramatic turn for the better when they received their lung or heart transplants, and their joy was evident in the festive atmosphere as they came together for this annual event.

Prof. Mordechai Kramer, Head of the Pulmonary Institute at Rabin Medical Center, arranges this event every year close to the holiday of Tu B'Shevat that marks the New Year for Trees in the Jewish calendar. A small tree is presented annually to each of the 2008 transplant recipients, symbolizing their newfound life.

In 2008 a record number of 50 lung transplants were performed at Rabin Medical Center showing the increasing acceptance of organ donation among the Israeli public, but the number of those still waiting for a matching lung donor remains high. Rabin Medical Center performs 70% of all the organ transplants in Israel and 100% of the lung transplants, saving countless lives and giving transplant patients a life worth living.