Professor Shlomo Mashiach, Pioneer of Fertility Treatments in Israel, Dies at 89

Professor Shlomo Mashiach, a leading figure in Israeli gynecology and a pioneer of fertility and in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments in Israel, has passed away at the age of 89. He was instrumental in advancing women's reproductive medicine in the country. In 1981, alongside Professor Yehoshua Dor, Mashiach established Israel's first IVF unit at Sheba Medical Center. Just a year later, their team achieved a historic breakthrough by delivering Israel's first test-tube baby, Romi Neumark, who later became a journalist and news presenter.

Throughout his distinguished career, Mashiach served as head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Sheba Medical Center and later led the IVF unit at Assuta Medical Center. He was also a founding member of the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Medicine, chaired the Israeli Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and contributed to hundreds of research articles and the development of advanced surgical techniques in laparoscopy and male infertility treatments.

His medical and research work brought hope and enabled the birth of hundreds of thousands of children in Israel. Mashiach received numerous international awards and was honored as a Worthy Citizen of Tel Aviv-Yafo in 2011. He was married to the late Alit-Bianca, a head nurse in the delivery room at Sheba, who passed away in 2021. He is survived by two sons: Professor Roy Mashiach, who continues his legacy as head of a gynecology department at Sheba, and Guy, a lawyer.