Australian Friends of Magen David Adom

A great piece by The Algemeiner about the Marcus National Blood Services Center, opened by MDA in 2023 processes about 325,000 units annually and is built largely underground and heavily fortified - engineered to keep working without pause even when the country above it is under fire.

For the full story go to https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/06/15/in-one-of-the-worlds-most-divided-places-giving-blood-unites-us-all/

A great piece by The Algemeiner about the incredible Marcus National Blood Services Centre in Israel which process around 325,000 units of blood annually.

See below link for the full story

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/06/15/in-one-of-the-worlds-most-divided-places-giving-blood-unites-us-all/

267,407 blood units were donated through Magen David Adom Blood Services over the past year, helping to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients, trauma victims and new mothers across Israel.

Among those donations were 45,986 first-time donors, demonstrating the continued commitment of individuals stepping forward to help others in times of need.

Thank you to the volunteer blood donors whose generosity helps ensure lifesaving blood is available whenever and wherever it is needed.

To support MDA go to https://www.magendavidadom.org.au/donate/

When women labour call MDA, help now comes in a wonderful new form - a trained volunteer midwife.

Gila Zarbiv is one of dozens of midwives participating in MDA's First Contractions program, an innovative initiative bringing specialised maternal care directly into Israel's emergency response system.

Since launching in 2024, the program has connected volunteer midwives with MDA dispatchers nationwide, ensuring women experiencing labour, postpartum emergencies and pregnancy-related complications receive expert care when and where they need it most.

For Gila, a hospital midwife, researcher, mother of four and MDA volunteer, the mission is bigger than responding to emergencies.

"It's understanding what took place before, what is happening now, what needs to happen next, and how to follow up."

From helping women in labour to treating life-threatening postpartum complications, MDA's volunteer midwives are changing the way women receive care across Israel, one call at a time.

Because every mother deserves expert care when it matters most.

To support MDA please go to https://www.magendavidadom.org.au/donate/

MDA has not only saved countless lives, but embodies the ideals of coexistence, diversity, and the profound importance of valuing every life equally. ❤️✡️🚑

Thank you for the recognition

Shabbat Shalom!

If you had the chance to travel back in time to your school days and sit in the same classroom as your mum, would you do it?

MDA hasn't invented time-travel technology just yet, but they managed to bring Eliyahu (30) and Shilat (24) Tzaada from the Pardes Hanna-Karkur local council into the exact same classroom as their mother, Michal (54).

"Ever since I was 18, I dreamed of volunteering with MDA; it always fascinated me," Michal shares. "After October 7th, 2023, our local council announced that an MDA EMT course was opening. Eliyahu, my eldest son, and Shilat, one of my daughters, signed up together. I realized this was my moment to finally achieve my dream, so I joined them."

For months, the three of them went to class together, studied for exams as a team, and ultimately passed their EMT course with flying colors.

Today, they proudly wear the white MDA uniforms, step onto the ambulances, and save lives side by side!

At MDA, a state of emergency does not begin when the siren sounds. It begins long before, in drills, in operational preparedness and above all, in its people.

When the transition to heightened alert is declared, MDA teams across the country shift within a short time from routine to full wartime readiness, known internally as "full staffing": ambulances, mobile intensive care units and rescue vehicles are manned, deployed, and ready to respond to any call.

Behind this organisational strength stands human strength - employees and volunteers who drop everything, report to stations, take a standby ambulance home, and remain available at every moment.

Sa'ar Shai, Director of the MDA Modi'in station said, "In every wartime alert, dozens of volunteers arrive who drop everything and come to help. They don't ask where they're needed. They simply show up."

MDA thanks its employees and volunteers across the country, whose dedication, professionalism, and unwavering commitment make this level of readiness possible. Time and again they leave behind their daily routines, answer the call without hesitation and stand ready to save lives under any circumstances. Their service embodies the values of MDA and ensures that emergency medical care is always available to anyone.

To support MDA's life saving work please go to https://www.magendavidadom.org.au/donate/

96 Years of Saving Lives

On Sunday Magen David Adom marked its 96th anniversary.

Since its establishment in 1930, the organisation has evolved from a small local body operating in Tel Aviv into the State of Israel’s national emergency medical service organization, providing emergency medical care, operating the National Blood Services and supplying blood to the entire healthcare system and the Israel Defence Forces, managing the National Human Milk Bank, and delivering humanitarian assistance to all citizens of Israel and, in many cases, to communities around the world.