A. Machpud, 16, has been hospitalized in critical condition for a period of time and about three weeks ago, she was officially declared dead. While her heart was still beating, a death certificate was issued in her name at Shaare Zedek Hospital.
According to an exclusive report by Kikar Shabbos News, the girl began experiencing difficulty hearing and her condition rapidly deteriorated, until such time an illness that impacted her motor skills was diagnosed. As the illness impacted her movement, her condition continued to deteriorate until she was unable to eat and drink without assistance.
Comprehensive neurological tests in Rambam Medical Center in Haifa did not show anything significant, and from there she was transferred to Schneider Children’s Hospital in Petach Tikvah, to an intensive care unit, where she showed improvement. She was then transferred to the long-term Allyn Hospital in Jerusalem.
The family reports that a month ago, significant developments took place, with her hospitalization in Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem. The doctors did a SPECT (Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography) exam to determine the brain function of the teenage girl, and it was determined there was no longer any brain function to speak of.
Her father, Eliezer Machpud, a melamed in Yerushalayim, is quoted telling Kikar Shabbos News “In light of the test, it was decided in Shaare Zedek to issue a death certificate in her name for some reason, despite the fact that halachically, she was alive in every sense of the words since her heart was beating regularly.
“However, they did not make do with an internal decision, and they handed the death certificate to us, lacking a minimum of sensitivity. My wife passed out on the spot when she saw that our daughter was officially declared dead, no longer among the living”.
The parents accuse the medical team for not providing sufficient care for their daughter, but they are simply waiting for her to die. They add that in addition, her heart continues beating today, three weeks after the death certificate in her name was issued.
With the assistance of the Let Us Live (‘תנו לאדם לחיות’) NGO, they turned to a court to demand an additional SPECT exam, to determine if there is any change in her brain activity since issuing the death certificate. The court complied with the request and ordered another SPECT exam by Shaare Zedek Hospital, which is going to be done.
As a result, on Monday night, a number of chareidim took it upon themselves to come to the pediatric intensive care unit in Shaare Zedek and protest, and they had to be forcibly removed by security personnel. The news report quotes one of the protestors saying that if there is a decision to stop her care or to chas v’sholom disconnect her from the machines, “the streets will burn”.
Shaare Zedek Hospital responds: The brain death of the child was determined according to the Brain-Respiratory Death Act a few days ago. According to the law, the family has the right to request that she not be disconnected from respirators, and the hospital naturally fulfills her request. The death notice was issued in accordance with the Respiratory Death Act. An additional SPECT test will be performed during the day.”
“There is no basis for the claims of insensitivity,” the hospital stresses. “The family receives, in light of the sensitive situation, full attention to all its requests, with understanding by all the parties – the director of the hospital and his deputy, the director of the children’s hospital and the entire relevant staff.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
Shaare Zedek Hospital is Not a good facility anyways.
This young lady is known to my daughters and their school. Please pray for a miraculous recovery for Ora bat Naomi Bracha.
The definition of death changed after transplants so hospitals could get organs.
Zionist hospital; what do you expect.
When my son was in Shaarei Zedek, they determined that his brain was gone except for the brain stem. But they continued to give him good care, and operated on him to put in gastrostomy and tracheostomy tubes. No one ever declared him dead, even though there was no brain in which for there to be activity. Rabbi Peleg – the Rav of the hospital – was very involved, as was another Doctor/Rabbi who was in charge of ethics. I have had incidents with my other children which disappointed me greatly, but I must say that the Shaarei Zedek medical staff gave this particular son exceptional care, and B”H he was able to live another three years after his treatments.
The law is that the death certificate may be issued once brain death is established, with the patient not able to breath at all on his/her own.
No amount of threats or thuggery will change that.
those who deny the halakhic validity of CURRENT brain death tests that can tell you with 100% percent certainty that without ventilator assistance heart function would cease should NEVER EXCEPT A TRANSPLANT. just die. medical science advances and as a result, the halakhic validity of new testing methods must be considered.
Even though she was brain dead (which is basically considered dead), her heart was still beating which means that technically she was still alive, so they are a bunch of absolute fools for giving a death certificate, poor mother, she passed out because of the people.
avreimi, I’d expect a bit more sensitivity from you . . . that’s what I’d expect.
To Levs: I am so sorry for your loss and glad your experience was, under these terrible circumstances, sensitively handled. The Machpud family are suffering terribly & I pray for them. As for the likes of avremi… you are one callous & disgusting individual. Shame on you.