I have had the honor and pleasure of knowing and working with Yosef Busner for these past few years. I work together with Rabbi Yisrael Kaniel who has had the honor and pleasure of knowing and working with Yosef for over 17 years. We both decided to write this letter on his behalf in an effort to help save his life. Yosef Busner is in dire need of a kidney transplant. Yosef has been on hemodialysis for over five years. His sessions are for three nights a week, seven hours each time. While in the short term, dialysis prevents immediate death, in most cases the patient’s overall health declines over time, often resulting in death. The following are some but not all of the issues that can and often do affect the dialysis patient:
Yosef’s once perfect teeth went from being picture perfect to a dentist’s nightmare, needing root canals, many fillings, extractions and implants.
Yosef also gets skin disorders that require application of expensive creams several times per week.
Yosef receives liquid iron supplements and injections to increase his hemoglobin intravenously every week. He just recovered from a recent decline that brought his hemoglobin down to the dangerous level of 7.2. Phosphorus and potassium imbalances wreak havoc on his body and he constantly suffers from muscle cramps and huge fluctuations in his calcium levels.
Immune System: Dialysis patients have weak immune systems. An internal infection can prove deadly. In Yosef’s case, he is constantly fighting off colds, flus and other viruses.
The more time a patient does dialysis the weaker he/she becomes. Yosef, once a trained athlete is now weak and constantly exhausted. He is forced to cancel work appointments every week as he has many bad days.
The fluid builds up because of zero production of urine. This raises blood pressure between dialysis sessions. Every session, water is removed to bring the patient back down to his dry weight. This is very bad for the heart. The more years Yosef is on dialysis, the more damage there is to his heart.
Rabbi Kaniel and I have started a Gofundme page, https://www.gofundme.com/kidneyforyosef. I myself left work for five weeks after Pesach and went to the greater NY area and Toronto to raise funds for Yosef’s transplant. As I am a former Cheder Rebbi and not a fundraiser, my results confirmed that «No, I’m not a fundraiser!» However, my visit to the states was not for naught! It created some momentum and people in different communities have started to actively campaign for Yosef.
Yosef lives in Netanya with his wife, Liora. They are proud parents of a 15-year-old girl, Chava, and a 10-year-old boy, Yair. Liora is a school teacher and Yosef himself administrates his nonprofit B’ahavat Yisrael, which gives needy families and soldiers assistance. He also focuses on trying to keep Eretz Yisrael, especially the Galil, in Jewish hands by running the Buy a Piece of Israel project. Think about it… It’s hard enough for healthy people to go out and help others. That Yosef does this with his debilitating condition is both humbling and inspiring at the same time! Yosef, in his poor state of health, does far more than most healthy people to help Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael.
Operations for a kidney transplant theoretically should be paid for in Israel by the Israeli health providers, or Kupot Cholim. I say theoretically because they will only cover kidneys from organ-donor cadavers or live kidney donors in Israel. Organizations that encourage matching of live donors with dialysis patients are noble causes but the majority of those in need of a kidney simply don’t find matches without having to leave Israel and pay privately for all the expenses. Unfortunately, the cost of acquiring the kidney and the whole transplant procedure privately is very expensive and often the patient dies waiting for a kidney. If a donor is found in Israel the operation is still for free. If not, in a foreign country it can cost between $250,000 to $300,000 USD. Our goal is to raise up to $300,000 to ensure Yosef receives a kidney transplant. To date, we have raised about $50,000 and people are starting to help campaign in different communities. People can also apply to donate a kidney. Yosef is type O blood, and O plus or minus candidates are most suitable as potential donors. For more information, including rabbinical endorsements, and to donate please visit https://www.gofundme.com/ kidneyforyosef .
With blessings, Rabbi Ari Waldman, US virtual # 929-242-1048, Israel # 058-419-0598, email: [email protected]. Rabbi Yisrael Kaniel, Israel # 052-765-2908, email: [email protected].
By Rabbi Ari Waldman
