12-year-old boy who was buried alive saves 5 people in death

A small intestines transplant surgery was performed in Israel for the first time on Tuesday. The organ was taken from the body of 12-year-old Omri Gilor, who died when a mound of sand collapsed on him, and transplanted into the body of a 16-year-old whose intestines had been removed due to a chronic disease.

Omri's colon, liver, stomach and pancreas were also transplanted into the body of Liraz Lehem of the West Bank settlement of Beit Aryeh, whose condition has radically deteriorated lately.

About two months before his tragic death, Omri told his mother he wanted his organs to save other people's lives in case something happens to him.

The complicated surgery was performed in the Schneider and Beilinson hospitals in Petah Tikva by an internationally renowned intestinal transplants expert from Florida, who was called up during his holiday in Greece, and the Israeli transplant expert Prof. Eitan Mor.

Schneider Hospital said that until today, children who required an intestinal transplant were flown to medical centers in the U.S. and returned to the hospital for follow-up treatment.

The first national center for pediatric intestinal transplant is currently being built at Schneider hospital.

Some of Omri's other organs were transplanted into the bodies of other patients; his heart went to an 8-year-old girl and his lungs to an 11-year-old boy. His two kidneys were transplanted into the bodies of two adults.

	Omri Gilor (Channel 10)