Jewish Man Donates Liver To a Stranger

A Madison Wisconsin man is recovering after a historical surgery in the state of New York that saved a woman's life.

Yitzchok Pinkesz was one of the first in New York to donate part of his liver to a complete stranger, known as an altruistic donation. The procedure comes with a .2 percent chance of death. When asked why he would undergo such a surgery for someone he's never met, Pinkesz said it just makes sense.

"We're talking about a person that has 4 children, she's loved by her husband, loved by her children," he says. "If your liver is dying, there's no way out of it. You're going to die. If you could avoid that for very little risk, there would be no reason not to."

Yitzchok underwent the surgery in July. Just one month later, he's recovered well enough to return to work and play with his kids.

Looking back, he says he would do it again in a heartbeat.

"If you saw somebody drowning, and you need to jump in - and you're not the best swimmer, but you think you could get out there and save him - you would do it," he says.

מי כעמך ישראל