Inside MDA’s heroic efforts: How Israeli women stepped up

In the past six months, Magen David Adom has collected 1.5 tons of milk for premature babies, infants whose mothers were injured during the October 7 massacre, and babies of IDF officers and others, according to Prof. Eilat Shinar, director of the organization's National Blood Services. 

Shinar, who spoke at The Jerusalem Post's Women Leaders Summit on March 27 in Tel Aviv, shared how Israeli women poured into the country's breast milk and blood banks to help their fellow citizens.

She said about 25% of blood donors are women in an average month. But since October 7, that percentage has spiked to 52%.

“I want to take this opportunity to salute the women who made all these efforts,” Shinar said, adding that 80% of Magen David Adom blood services workers and around 50% of all other staff are women.

Unprecedented Response on October 7

MDA Blood Services played an essential role on the morning of October 7, which Shinar recalled onstage.

She was asked to immediately open blood donation centers on the morning of the massacre. By 9:30 a.m., centers were operating. She said MDA called residents to come to stations in safe areas, and they came in droves. She explained that while MDA collects around 1,000 units of blood a day, on October 7 and several days afterward, the organization collected as many as 4,000 units daily.

“The public’s response was unbelievable,” the National Blood Services head said. “People came from the synagogue wearing their tallits [prayer shawls], secular people came, women, men, Arabs, Jews – everybody. People stood in line for hours for several days.”

Eventually, MDA collected so much blood that they had to ask people to go home and come back another day to ensure the supply stayed good.

"I am a big believer in the Israeli public," Shinar said. "I think this is proof of how much we care for each other and are in solidarity."

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