16/07/2026
Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center is the first hospital in Israel as to embrace an innovative gene therapy.
The approach, which brings hope for other patients with similar conditions, spared a young patient the need for a complex dual kidney and liver transplant and has set him on the road to a healthier and stronger lifestyle.
At just five months old, Yusef Shweki, who is now three, began receiving dialysis treatments six times a week at Shaare Zedek.
He suffers from a rare genetic condition that caused his liver to produce high amounts of oxolate that was accumulating in his kidneys. The disease was destroying his kidneys and threatened other organs and parts of his body.
Most children with Yusef’s diagnosis would have to endure a long and complex medical path requiring long-term dialysis while awaiting the chance for a dual transplant of both the liver and kidney.
From early on in his treatment, Yusef was cared for in the Rothberg Department of Pediatric Nephrology where the Lesley and Leon Berman Paediatric Dialysis Unit became almost a second home for him and his family.
Alongside the intensive course of dialysis, his medical team began treating him with lumasiran, a groundbreaking drug designed to completely stop the liver’s production of oxolate with the goal of neutralizing the origins of the disease. Shaare Zedek is a main center of clinical care and research responsible for securing the regulatory approval of the drug leading to it’s introduction to the national healthcare basket.
As a result of the multiple approaches to his care, Yusef’s body began to respond positively and reject the negative impacts of the oxolate and he began to grow in size and strength. Earlier this year, after close monitoring of his condition, the Shaare Zedek team made the decision to proceed with a kidney transplant without the need to transplant his liver. Since undergoing the procedure, his condition has continued to improve.
Dr. Efrat Ben Shalom, Director of the Rothberg Department of Pediatric Nephrology explains, “This is truly a milestone-setting moment for Israeli medicine that positions us on the forefront of global medical science and will provide a sense of hope for many patients and families. Our multi-disciplinary team accompanied Yusef and his family around the clock with the goal of developing a customized treatment regiment in response to a very complicated medical reality. Yusef will continue to be administered lumasiran to protect his new kidney and we all bless him with many more years of good health.”
Yedida Rabi, Head Nurse in the Berman Paediatric Dialysis Unit added, “We’ve been proud to offer Yusef and his family years of exceptional professional and dedicated care since he was just five months old. To see him, a child who first came here as a sick baby that required daily dialysis care, now after his transplant, smiling and riding his scooter provides us all with a great sense of excitement and a real appreciation of the power to overcome illness.”
