page_title: Magen David Adom
section_title: Volunteers
hierarchical_section_title: Magen David Adom / Volunteers
caption_attribution_description: A first responder unit of Magen David Adom in the old city of Jerusalem, 5 Or Ha-Hayim street. The ambucycle is owned and operated by Hatzolah Israel.
context_page_description: The Magen David Adom is Israel's national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. The name means "Red Shield of David". Since June 2006, Magen David Adom has been officially recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross as the national aid society of the State of Israel under the Geneva Conventions, and a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. MDA has a dedicated medical emergency phone number in Israel, 101.
  MDA can become an auxiliary arm of the Israel Defense Forces during times of war.
context_section_description: Magen David Adom is mainly staffed by volunteers, and has over 10,000 people volunteering an over one million combined man-hours per year. The minimum age to join Magen David Adom's basic first aid course and become a volunteer is 15.
  Since 2001, international volunteers aged 18 and over have the option to come to Israel for a two-month MDA Overseas Program in Memory of Yochai Porat . The program is named after its founder and first coordinator, who was killed by a sniper on 3 March 2002 while serving reserve duty as a combat medic in the Israel Defense Forces. All volunteers pass a 60-hour course that covers a wide range of topics ranging from common medical conditions and trauma situations to mass casualty events. Those who pass the course are then dispatched throughout the country and work with local volunteers in ambulances to provide initial medical care on the regular and Mobile Intensive Care Ambulances.
  While the programme was originally financially supported by the Jewish Agency for Israel, it has recently been taken over by the Israel Experience organization, which also offers programs for Jewish youths on Birthright Israel trips.
  Visitors to Israel are also welcome to donate blood through the "Sharing for Life" program. Since its inception in 2001, increasing numbers of people have donated blood, usually through groups such as Christian solidarity missions, or family Bar-Bat Mitzvas, especially during seasonal traditional pilgrimage times, such as Passover and Easter.
caption: An MDA motorcycle used by a community first responder in Jerusalem's Old City
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