Bergen County Rabbi's 2nd Organ Donation Helps New York Dad Live

Nine years after donating his kidney to a stranger, Bergen County rabbi Ephraim Simon has given an ailing father a second chance at life with his liver.

Rabbi Ephraim Simon and Adam Levitz
Photo Credit: *Chabad.org*

Cecilia Levine

01/13/2019 4:57 p.m.

Adam Levitz, 44 of Long Island, has suffered from Crohn’s disease since the age of 15 and was in dire need of a live donor as of December 2018.

Simon of Teaneck is among only a handful of people who have donated both a kidney and a liver.

Because many hospitals won't allow such -- including those in New York state -- Levitz and Simon of Teaneck traveled to the Cleveland Clinic for the successful operations on Dec. 20.

“As a rabbi, I do a lot of talking about love, doing things for others and altruism," the rabbi said on a GoFundMe page for the procedure.

"A rabbi’s greatest sermon and a parent’s greatest lecture is the way they live their lives. How often do we have the opportunity to really set ourselves aside for another? This was my opportunity to do that, and I didn’t want to let it go.

"Adam allowed me to actually give the gift of life, perhaps the greatest kindness, I can imagine.”

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