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Meir Dagan’s Transplanted Corneas Bring Sight Back to Two Elderly Israelis

‘We all owe this man, and now I most of all, because I can see because of him’

by
Jonathan Zalman
April 05, 2016
Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
Meir Dagan gives a speech in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 7, 2015. Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
Meir Dagan gives a speech in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 7, 2015. Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images

Here’s some good news: Meir Dagan’s corneas are helping two elderly people see again.

On Tuesday, an unnamed 70-year-old woman and Avraham Gian, an 81-year-old man, received the corneas of the former Mossad chief, who passed away last month at the age of 71; he was registered as a potential donor. The operations took place at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, reported The Times of Israel, citing a report from Israel Channel 2.

“I’m amazed to discover that the corneas of a hero of Israel like him were implanted in me,” said Gian, who had apparently not seen well for two years prior to the operation. “We all owe this man, and now I most of all, because I can see because of him.” Gian’s wife, Sarah, said, “It’s a different world for [Avraham].”

Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.