In memory of the late Moshe Gilrenter
25/9/2025
It is with great sadness and deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our dear Moshe Gelranter.
Moshe was an exemplary family man and a prime example of a man who was all about giving and volunteering.
Moshe, 80 years old, rode his bicycle ("not electric," he always proudly noted) to the blood bank in Tel Hashomer every morning, and from there he summoned donors to donate plasma and platelets, an activity he did for many years with endless dedication.
Moshe, who was a pleasant, sensitive, and kind-hearted man, personally knew a large portion of the donors and maintained continuous and courageous contact with them.
In the afternoon, Moshe would dedicate himself to preparing boys for their Bar Mitzvahs, a 50-year life's work in which he prepared nearly 2,000 students, including those with special needs.
Moshe is a veteran volunteer in the Israeli Volunteer Blood Donors organization, with over 300 units of blood to his credit, and he also inspired his immediate family, who together donated over 700 units of blood.
On 4/6/2020 we celebrated at the blood bank, with Moshe and his family. The entire family's 600th blood donation.
Moshe was the oldest board member in the organization, and his balanced and calm voice was important and will be greatly missed.
Moshe was born in 1945 in Poland, immigrated to Israel at the age of 4, served as a paratrooper in the 202nd Battalion, raised a wonderful family, and will always be an example to us all.
We broke up too soon 😢
Organization of volunteer blood donors in Israel.
Written by Orly Habani, a blood donor:
A special person, a kind person, he always spoke pleasantly and united hearts, we never got into arguments about religion or politics.
When he wanted to ask a medical question or have something checked, he would gently approach, apologize several times for "interfering," and then ask.
His absence is very noticeable to us and to the donors, who are shocked by the news.
May he rest in heaven🙏
30/9/2025
A veteran volunteer in the organization, Zvika Walgreen, wrote in his memory:
My dear friend Moshe
It was only when I understood the meaning of your last name that I learned to pronounce it correctly. Gelranter means scholar in Yiddish.
That's how you were. You knew how to add a word of Torah at the appropriate place in our conversation.
Always smiling, always welcoming. Personally greeting everyone good morning when they come and peace when they go, whether it's a staff member, volunteer or donor.
You knew all the donors by name and spoke to each one with respect and humility.
Your life's work was preparing thousands of children for their bar mitzvahs, and you were proud to tell me about each one of them who came to donate blood and at the same time saved lives by volunteering at the blood bank to summon donors for pheresis.
We met every Monday. This week I arrived on Sunday because of the holiday and you laughed that I was confusing the days of the week for you.
You asked me to check your hemoglobin to see if you were recovering from the fall last week, and indeed there was a recovery and we were hoping that you were getting back to your strength.
And here is the bitter news as the new year begins.
I will miss you very much, as will your family and the activities at the blood bank.
For me you were and will forever remain a righteous person.
26/9/2025
Press release from MDA spokesman Zaki Heller:
Magen David Adom bids farewell to veteran volunteer Moshe Zalman Gelranter, late
"A righteous man and a human being who is all about giving"
Magen David Adom mourns the passing of Moshe Zalman Gelranter, a veteran volunteer in MDA's blood service. At the start of Rosh Hashanah (Thursday night, September 25.9, Tuesday of Tishrei), after finishing building a sukkah, Moshe suffered a heart attack and passed away at the age of 80 at his home in Ramat Gan. Moshe was the top blood donor in the State of Israel, donating over 300 units and blood components over decades. Moshe saw blood donation as a mission and also involved his children and grandchildren in the cause. For many years, in addition to being a blood donor who helped save the lives of thousands of people, Moshe volunteered in MDA's blood service and helped recruit donors. In 2010, he was awarded the title of Outstanding Volunteer in the MDA Blood Services. In addition to his life-saving activities at the MDA, he taught boys and prepared them for the Aliyah to Torah at Bar Mitzvah – a mission he fulfilled for 50 years, during which he taught nearly 2,000 boys. Moshe, who left behind a wife, 4 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, was buried in the Segula Cemetery in Petah Tikva, accompanied by his family and many friends.
Natalie Salem, a blood donor in the Persis Department at MDA's blood services: "Moshe Zalman Gelranter was a happy man, a dedicated volunteer who donated for decades to save lives. Everyone knew him and waited for a phone call from him to make a donation. He always received donors with a warm welcome, asked about their well-being and took an interest in them and their families. The late Moshe always helped and assisted, he was inspiring. I share the family's grief."
Rina Bar Or, a retired MDA employee who founded and managed the pheresis unit in MDA's blood services, shares: "The meaning of the late Moshe's last name is 'learned' and that's what he was, an amazing man who always aspired to learn and contribute as much as possible. In the late 80s, Moshe first came to us and began donating blood. I met a humble man with a warm heart who just wanted to give and help. I suggested to him that in addition to the regular blood donation, he would also donate platelets in the pheresis process. For years, he came to donate and also recruited his children and family members. He came almost every day from his home to the MDA blood services complex in Sheba by bicycle to volunteer with us - to help recruit blood donors or to donate blood himself. Throughout my many years of work and even after I retired, we kept in touch. Our last conversation was a Happy New Year greeting on Rosh Hashanah Eve. May his memory be blessed."
Prof. Eilat Shinar, former Deputy Director of MDA's Blood Services: "The late Moshe was a righteous man and a person who was all about giving. He was one of the veterans and the top blood donors in the State of Israel. He saw blood donation as a mission and also recruited his children and grandchildren, who together formed a blood-donating family that helped save the lives of thousands of sick, injured and pregnant women in the State of Israel. During the Corona pandemic, Moshe also volunteered to summon those recovering from Corona to donate plasma to save the lives of seriously ill Corona patients. His smile was one of his most prominent hallmarks and it is difficult to imagine the corridors of MDA's blood services without him. I send my condolences to his dear family."
Eli Bin, CEO of MDA: "The late Moshe saved many lives during his decades of volunteering in MDA's blood services. The hundreds of blood donations he himself donated and the many thousands he helped collect fulfilled the mission of saving lives, and the more people came and donated, the more lives were saved in the State of Israel. On behalf of the Magen David Adom organization, I share the grief of Moshe's family and friends. Moshe's legacy of blood donation will remain forever in our hearts."
You can also read more about Moshe in the article published in his memory in the local newspaper "Ramat Gan Givatayim News".
Interested in writing in his memory? Or if you have photos you took with him? You can comment below in the comments or write to us on the "Contact Us"Attach the photo and we will publish your words here on the page."
A precious person who spreads light. I miss him.
Moshe was a unique and special man, a lover of people, a helper of others, a great family raiser, may his memory be blessed.
I had the honor of knowing the deceased who taught my grandson the haftarah for his bar mitzvah. A kind, humble man, with noble behavior, a special man. May his memory be blessed.
I met Moshe when I arrived at the hemodialysis unit, at the blood bank in Tel Hashomer. I met a modest and quiet man, who didn't mince words until it came to the subject of blood donations in general and hemodialysis donations in particular. He was enthusiastic about recruiting donors and made sure to fill out the diary, according to the various needs and requests from the hospitals, and when he arrived in the morning, riding his bike (and sometimes on rainy days he apologized for coming in the car), he would approach me or one of the other staff members and ask quietly, almost in a whisper: Who is in the first bed, the second? After we introduced the donor by name, he would approach him with a broad smile and say who he was: "I apologize, we only know each other by phone."
I met his second family, who, according to his wife Nechama, will be distinguished by a long life, several years ago, when he received a certificate of appreciation at the "Givurot Mordechai" synagogue for being a Bar Mitzvah groom (a dedicated teacher), and on the same Shabbat, my uncle Yitzhak, the late, was awarded the title of Bereshit groom.
When he celebrated his 80th birthday in the presence of his family, friends, and blood bank staff, he made sure to invite me, and a few days before the event, he called to make sure I was coming. It was impossible to refuse, nor did I want to, to celebrate with this amazing man of the Eshkolot, who instilled in his family the issue of blood donations, Zionism, and love for the Land of Israel through his feet as he walked the path of Israel with one of his sons until his last years.
Moshe was a special man and will be missed by everyone, especially his family.