Magen David Adom Responds to Nearly 2 Million Emergencies in Dramatic Year

Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's national emergency medical service, has reported a record-breaking year with nearly 2 million emergency responses during the Hebrew year 5776. The organization handled approximately 1.91 million dispatches, averaging one emergency call every 16.5 seconds. Its emergency dispatch center, 101, received over 2 million calls, with an average response time of just two seconds.

The service operates with a large force of approximately 39,200 employees, volunteers, and national service participants, including around 16,500 teenagers. These volunteers contributed over 6.3 million hours, with the average volunteer age being 26.8. The youngest volunteers are 14, while the oldest is a 92-year-old from Ness Ziona.

MDA's extensive fleet includes 213 stations and dispatch points, featuring 652 motorcycles, 275 rapid response vehicles (50 of which are electric), and 117 ambulances and intensive care units with four-wheel drive. The fleet also comprises 104 armored ambulances, intensive care units, and command vehicles, five intensive care buses, 17 ATVs, and 27 station vehicles for mass casualty incidents.

In maritime operations, MDA's sea ambulances on the Sea of Galilee and in Eilat were dispatched to 153 incidents. Their ECMO unit treated nine patients, five of whom were connected to a heart-lung machine in the field. MDA teams provided medical treatment to over 67,600 individuals in traffic accidents and rescued 229 people from drowning incidents.

Furthermore, MDA trained nearly 500,000 civilians in CPR and first aid through over 17,000 courses. The organization also trained 17,804 civilians in its "Magen" project to provide initial response in isolated communities. MDA assisted in 1,399 births in the field or en route to hospitals, supported by 97 new on-call midwives. The national blood bank collected over 281,000 units of blood, including nearly 46,500 new donors. The national breast milk bank supplied approximately 5,700 liters of milk to premature and sick infants. The "Ambulance of Wishes" fulfilled 128 wishes, and MDA's five helicopters evacuated 264 patients and injured individuals.