'Like Childbirth': He Donated a Kidney and Gave Two Women a New Lease on Life

Naomi’s kidney disease was first discovered during her military service, but for two decades she managed to keep it stable. When she reached the point where she needed dialysis and the option of a donation from her brother was ruled out, her cousin entered a paired kidney exchange process, in which he donated to another recipient, while a compatible donor was found for Naomi.

“It's hard to comprehend that someone agreed to go through such a process for me,” she says. Yonatan Dushnitsky, mako Health, published: 11.06.26, 08:44

“I felt like I was connecting to very high places”

About 25 years ago, Omri Lapidot, now 50, from Emek Hefer, sat in a class as part of his master’s studies in neuroscience and neurophysiology at Tel Aviv University. During a discussion about decision-making and risk versus benefit, one of the lecturers said that kidney donation is the action that yields the greatest benefit and the least risk. “It just stayed with me,” he says. At the time, he never imagined that one day he would become a kidney donor himself.

About a year and a half ago, the condition of his cousin, Naomi Cohen Zgagi, 44, began to deteriorate because of kidney disease she had been living with for about 20 years. The disease was discovered during her military service after she suffered from headaches, high blood pressure, and a rapid pulse. After hospitalization and lengthy tests, it became clear that her kidney function had been significantly impaired.

“Before the army I was completely healthy,” she says. “After months of tests they found that my kidneys were functioning at about half of normal capacity. They told me I might need a transplant in the future, but they couldn’t say when.”

For years Naomi managed to remain relatively stable, but in 2025 her condition began to worsen rapidly. “By August 2025 I already really felt it,” she says. “I was tired in a way I had never known before, I felt weakness and heaviness, along with a lack of energy and vitality. I was doing the bare minimum at home, and at work I reduced my hours. I realized I was close to the point where I would need a donor or I would soon be on dialysis.”

At first, her immediate family was tested. Her brother was considered the leading candidate for donation, but he was ultimately disqualified because of concerns related to a family genetic mutation. “That was the hardest moment in the whole process,” she says. “I had already nurtured hope that we would find a donor.”

At the same time, the family reached out to other relatives as well. “Omri was the first in the extended family to volunteer to be tested,” she says. “Even when it turned out he couldn’t donate to me directly, only through an exchange, he continued with the process. I did not take that for granted.”

While the process dragged on, Naomi’s condition continued to worsen and she had to start dialysis. “I tried to avoid it for as long as possible, but my body was no longer functioning. The buildup of toxins took its toll. I was very stressed about that stage. I felt terrible that I had reached a point where only a machine was helping my body function.”

She underwent dialysis for only about a month, but even that short period left a deep impression on her. “The treatment itself is exhausting. It leaves you drained for hours afterward, then you start to feel a little better, and then there’s another drop until the next treatment.”

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In the end, Lapidot was found to be incompatible with Naomi, but he did match another recipient. Through the “Gift of Life” nonprofit, founded by the late Rabbi Yeshayahu Haber, a chain donation, or what is known as a paired exchange, was arranged. “Omri donated to someone else, and thanks to his donation they found Ma’ayan for me, my amazing donor,” Naomi says. “For the rest of my life I will never find a proper way to thank her for what she did. In fact, Omri gave new life not only to me but also to his recipient.”

“It’s a bit like childbirth. I felt like I was connecting to very high places”

For Lapidot, the decision to donate was not simple. He is married and the father of three boys, ages 15, 13, and 10. “There was fear,” he admits. “I spoke with people who had gone through it, but part of it is overcoming the apprehension.” He explained the brave step to his children in a special way. “I told them it’s like jumping through a ring of fire. I’m ready to jump, but I need them on the other side. They also need to go through that fear with me.”

According to him, the days before the surgery were exceptional. “There’s a sense of uplift. You know you’re going to do something that will hurt you for a while, but will also save a life. The day of the surgery itself was an amazing day. It’s a bit like childbirth. I felt like I was connecting to very high places.”

He says the recovery was more complicated. “They cut into my abdomen. For almost a month my wife did everything at home. I could barely move or help. Today I already feel improvement every day. If you ask me whether it was worth it, the answer is absolutely yes. You need a supportive environment, and you also need the option not to work for a month or a month and a half, but for me it was worth everything.”

Dr. Evyatar Nesher, head of the transplant department at Beilinson, part of Clalit, explains that Naomi’s story is not unusual among chronic kidney patients. “There are many people who live for years with kidney failure without yet needing dialysis, but when the disease reaches the final stage, they need dialysis or a transplant.”

According to Dr. Nesher, one of the main consequences of kidney failure is damage to the body’s ability to balance salt levels in the blood. “As a result, potassium levels can rise to dangerous values, and high potassium can harm heart function. That is why many kidney patients are forced for years to limit or avoid foods high in potassium.”

Dr. Nesher stresses that for many patients, dialysis is especially difficult. “Patients are required to come three times a week for four hours each time. Beyond the time and the disruption to daily life, this is a process in which blood leaves the body, is filtered through a machine, and returns to the body. It is a very unnatural process. Many patients feel weakness, fatigue and nausea. The quality of life on dialysis is very difficult.”

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Photo: Dr. Avishay Taycher, from the PikiWiki website, News

He says there is no comparison between dialysis and kidney transplantation. “Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for end-stage renal failure for those who are suitable for it. True, there is also a cost to transplantation. Patients must take anti-rejection drugs, and those drugs can increase the risk of infections and certain types of cancer, especially skin tumors. But for most suitable patients, transplantation is the best solution.”

Dr. Nesher adds that there are currently about 5,000 kidney patients in Israel, but only about 1,000 of them are on transplant waiting lists. “Many dialysis patients are not suitable for transplantation because of their medical condition. Those who are suitable and do not have a living donor may wait five to seven years for a kidney from a deceased donor.”

According to him, Israel stands out positively in living kidney donations and altruistic donations relative to its population size. On the other hand, when it comes to organ donations after brain death, he explains, Israel is still a few steps behind much of the Western world. “In many countries in Europe and the United States there are about 35 organ donors per million people, while in Israel the number is significantly lower.”

Naomi now speaks about the life she regained. “Less than a month after the surgery I began to feel that I wanted to do things around the house and think about future plans,” she says. “Before that, my body and mind were in survival mode.”

The physical change came a little later. “Almost two months after the transplant I already went for a walk on the path ליד the house and suddenly realized I no longer felt that same heaviness and wasn’t getting tired so quickly.”

Today she has already returned to work and feels that life is gradually returning to her. “I can do things that used to be taken for granted, cooking, doing laundry, cleaning a little, climbing stairs without getting tired, and being with my daughters without needing to rest all the time,” she says. “I can also eat almost anything. Even a banana, which I hadn’t eaten in almost twenty years.”

Despite the improvement, there is one thing she still struggles to process. “It’s unbelievable to me that someone agreed to undergo surgery for me. It is amazing and crazy. I thank them every day, Omri, and Ma’ayan, who gave me new life.”

The Gift of Life nonprofit accompanies living kidney donors and provides them with full support throughout the process. Kidney transplant, did you find a language error?