Magen David Adom (MDA) is Israel’s national emergency response system, responsible for the emergency medical services, blood services and mass casualty medical response for Israel’s more than 9.5 million citizens and residents. It also serves as Israel’s representative to the International Federation of the Red Cross. A world recognized leader in dispatch technology, Magen David Adom provides pre-hospital emergency medical care to more than one million patients each year. In addition, it collects, processes and distributes to hospitals over 270,000 units of blood annually, and the with the construction of the new Marcus National Blood Services Center, the world’s first underground and shielded blood bank and processing facility, can process up to 500,000 units in wartime. MDA serves as the medical auxiliary to the Israel Defense Forces during national crisis, and is one of the key medical organizations dispatched as part of Israel’s response to catastrophic national disasters around the world. American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA) is the organization in the United States supporting the life-saving work of Magen David Adom. Founded in 1940, AFMDA supports Magen David Adom through donations from generous American donors who sponsor emergency vehicles, medical equipment and supplies, training, and technology. In addition, the donors of AFMDA undertake construction projects expanding MDA’s network of over 200 EMS stations across Israel, and Judaea and Samaria, and recently completed construction on the Marcus Center, a state-of-the-art blood processing facility that has become a model for other countries around the world.