Zohar Katz
Photo provided by the family
Israel trying to send blood to ailing citizen in Peru
22-year-old Zohar Katz is in critical condition in Lima with an aggressive infection; MDA and the MFA are working to send blood to her South American hospital.
A flight with units of blood that was intended to bring much needed blood to an ailing Israeli in Peru had not yet received the required authorizations to depart Tuesday.
The flight had been set to take off from Ben Gurion Airport Tuesday morning at 9am for Lima, where Zohar Katz, 22, from Kibbutz Yotvata is currently hospitalized in critical condition from an aggressive infection.
Zohar Katz (Photo provided by the family)
Israel's embassy in Peru is working with authorities to obtain the proper authorizations
The hematologist Dr. Asher Moser, who is the deputy director of Magen David Adom's blood services, is expected to reach Lima at 2am without the blood to provide assistance in treating Katz. He is expected to help the medical team who will examine the possibility of flying Katz back to Israel for treatment.
Katz left Israel for a post-army backpacking trip in South America four months ago. Near its completion, she contracted a violent bacterial infection.
Preparing the blood for transport (Photo: MDA)
Her father Baruch said this week that he was surprised to hear from his daughter, who had originally thought that she had come down with the flu. Then bruising began to appear on her body. Baruch and Zohar's sister Or flew to Peru, where they moved her from a less desirable clinic to her current hospital.
Argentine-born MK Haim Jelin (Yesh Atid) contacted MDA to organize the aid, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also assisted.
