The Sussman Family of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., today announced a $3 million gift to support Magen David Adom, Israel’s paramedic and Red Cross service, paving the way for MDA to relocate Israel’s Human Milk Bank to the organization’s new shielded blood-services center under construction in Ramla.
The Human Milk Bank is one of the most important initiatives in Israel for reducing deaths and disabilities among preemies. The bank safety-tests and houses breast milk donated by mothers across Israel, which is then used to provide critical nutrition and antibodies to premature babies, many of whom can’t tolerate any other food source because of their underdeveloped digestive and immune systems.
“This donation is particularly meaningful to my family,” said Andrea Sussman, who jointly announced the gift with her mother, Elaine. “Our support of Magen David Adom has always come from our belief that there’s no more powerful way to make an impact in Israel than to help save a life there. And, by ensuring the expansion of the Human Milk Bank, we’ll be helping the most vulnerable of all Israelis, newborn preemies, at the most vulnerable part of their lives.”
The Sussman family has a long history of supporting Israel, dating back to the work of Andrea’s late father, Sydney, to raise millions of dollars for the then young state. Over the years, Sydney and Elaine organized 28 missions to Israel, including a 1970 trip at the behest of then-Prime Minister Golda Meir that featured Moshe Dayan, Mordechai Hod, Abba Eban, and an official dinner for the participants at the prime minister’s residence.
“My father would have been proud to know that his legacy is helping to save young lives in Israel,” Andrea said.
Of the nearly 200,000 babies born annually in Israel, about 10% aren’t full term, according to Prof. Eilat Shinar, M.D., a deputy director-general of Magen David Adom and director of MDA’s Blood Services Division. Of those, about 20% are severely preterm and underweight, putting them at risk for a number of serious medical conditions that can lead to developmental disabilities, severe morbidity, and infant mortality.
“By providing crucial nutritional and immune-boosting components, human milk dramatically improves health outcomes for preemies,” Prof. Shinar said. “Because pre-term babies don’t have fully formed digestive systems, human milk reduces cases of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a leading cause of preemie mortality, and reduces the number of babies who experience sepsis and brain bleeds.
“By having a human milk bank in Israel, we’re literally saving hundreds of babies’ lives every year,” she said.
Magen David Adom’s Human Milk Bank, the only such facility in Israel, was established in 2018. It’s temporarily being housed at MDA’s Bloomberg Emergency Medical Station in Jerusalem, the largest of MDA’s 180 ambulance stations.
The milk bank will be moved later this year to Ramla upon completion of the Marcus National Blood Services Center, a $130 million state-of-the-art blood banking and processing facility being built for Israel mostly through donors from the American Jewish community. When it opens, the new blood center will double Israel’s blood-processing and storage capacity and secure the country’s blood supply from missile, chemical, and biological attack. The new milk bank facility there will also be larger, with greater capacity in anticipation of Israel’s growth.
The Sussman family’s latest gift follows four previous donations of $1 million each made toward completing the blood center.
“The Sussmans’ latest act of generosity will help ensure the completion of the Marcus Blood Center and provide Israel’s Human Milk Bank with a new cutting-edge facility to operate out of,” said Catherine Reed, chief executive officer of American Friends of Magen David Adom, which is overseeing the fundraising and construction for the Marcus Center. “The new milk bank will serve Israel’s newborns for generations to come.
“There are sponsorships still available for laboratories and other essential operations at the blood center that will play a tangible role in saving lives in Israel,” Ms. Reed said.
Individual donors or foundations interested in helping fund the completion of this important strategic initiative, can contact Ms. Reed at creed@afmda.org or at 646.388.7503.
