The nonprofit organization Matnat Chaim (gift of life) is set to enter the Guinness World Records after successfully gathering more than 1,000 kidney donors in a single photograph on Sunday. The record was set during an emotional ceremony in Jerusalem, marking 2,000 kidney donations in Israel, attended by President Isaac Herzog.
Matnat Chaim said that according to global health data, Israel leads the world in living kidney donations per capita. To date, 2,030 living kidney transplants have been carried out in Israel through the organization. The previous Guinness record, now surpassed, showed 410 organ donors, members of the Transplant Village community in the U.S who were photographed together in 2018.
Last month, Matnat Chaim was surprised to learn that Guinness judges had initially rejected its application, saying the organization was no longer accepting record submissions from Israel or the Palestinian territories, a response widely interpreted as political. Guinness later reversed its decision and is expected to include the record in its official book.
Speaking at the event, President Herzog said that until a few days earlier, Guinness had refused to recognize Israel’s world record not because of the numbers, but because it was Israel. “And now, in the face of hypocrisy that places boycotts above human life and a morally flawed decision that has thankfully been reversed, you are the decisive answer.”
Each of them, he said, chose the certainty of saving another person’s life over personal risk, at a time when the world is sometimes losing its moral compass.
He added that this was the true meaning of moral excellence, the ability to serve as a moral beacon and a light unto the nations, even when others try to extinguish that light, and the ability to uphold a clear and uncompromising moral commitment to the sanctity of life, even when the world around us gets confused.
Among the donors attending the ceremony was Kobi Zemer Tov, 40, who donated a kidney in November to help save the life of his father-in-law, Tal, through a paired exchange transplant. “I would do it again,” he told ynet. “You receive more than you give.”
Tal, 66, had led an active life, maintaining a healthy diet and regular exercise. In January 2024, routine blood tests revealed severe kidney failure, and within days he began dialysis treatments. When Tal’s wife and daughter were found unsuitable as donors, Zemer Tov volunteered despite a deep fear of hospitals and needles.
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'You are the decisive answer to the boycotts and to a world that at times loses its moral compass'
(Photo: Maayan Toaf, GPO)
Although Zemer Tov was medically cleared, his blood type did not match Tal’s. With the help of Matnat Chaim, the family entered a paired exchange program, in which incompatible donor-recipient pairs are matched with others to allow reciprocal transplants. After several months, a suitable match was found, and the transplant was performed two months ago at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.
Zemer Tov donated a kidney to a 37-year-old man, while Tal received a compatible kidney from another donor. One day after the surgery, Tal’s blood tests returned to normal. “It was unbelievable,” Zemer Tov said. “Despite the pain, he was suddenly walking again. It felt like a miracle.”
Founded in 2009 by Rabbi Yeshayahu Heber, who has since died, Matnat Chaim accompanies kidney donors throughout the process and provides comprehensive support. Rachel Heber, chair of the organization and a recipient of the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement, said the event marked a historic milestone for Israel and Israeli medicine, reflecting extraordinary mutual responsibility and compassion.
CEO Sharona Sherman said the organization’s goal is for Israel to become the first country in the world with no waiting list for kidney transplants, adding that efforts are ongoing to increase donations and save as many lives as possible.