The Minister of Health of the Republic of Lithuania, Marija Jakubauskiene, arrived for a visit to the MDA Campus in Ramla, accompanied by her deputy and 13 senior medical officials from Lithuania, together with Lithuania’s Ambassador to Israel, Audrius Bruzga.
During the visit, the Lithuanian Minister of Health, who is also responsible for the country’s emergency medical services, met with senior MDA officials, including Deputy Director of Blood Services Dr. Marina Izak and Disaster Preparedness Coordinator Chaim Rafalowski.
He also toured MDA’s new and advanced National Blood Bank - the world’s first underground facility of its kind, which processes and supplies blood units to hospitals throughout the country and to the IDF - as well as MDA’s National Emergency Dispatch Center and Training Center.
During the tour, the Minister was presented with an overview of the activities of MDA teams in routine times and during the war and Operation “Rising Lion," the ongoing work of approximately 35,000 Magen David Adom volunteers and about 3,500 employees around the clock, in both routine and emergency situations. He also learned about the organization’s unique emergency vehicles, including the intensive care bus capable of evacuating 7 intensive care beds and 9 lightly injured patients.
Impressed by the technologies used in the dispatch center to respond to emergency calls and by the training of the medical teams, the Minister thanked MDA teams for the fascinating tour and for their life-saving work.
He added, "This is a wonderful opportunity for us to see and learn from your high standards and to share these capabilities and your experience with us."
MDA Director General Eli Bin said, "I thank Lithuania’s Minister of Health, Marija Jakubauskiene, who arrived together with her deputy, Lithuania’s Ambassador to Israel Audrius Bruzga, and the senior Lithuanian medical officials for the visit and for their support of the State of Israel and the Magen David Adom teams, who operate with great dedication in routine times and in emergencies, providing medical care to all who need it."