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7 Nissan 5763 - April 9, 2003 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Drive Draws 24,000
by Yated Ne'eman Staff

24,000 Israelis demonstrated their concern for the many Jewish patients in need of life-saving bone marrow transplants by participating in Ezer Mizion's annual bone marrow drive on Tuesday April 1.

The drive brings the number of potential donors in the Ezer Mizion registry to over 150,000. The Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Registry is the largest international Jewish registry in existence. To date, it has facilitated 55 life-saving transplants all over the world.

"No person has immunity to cancer, so the registry is an insurance policy for Jews everywhere," says Dr. Bracha Zisser, who initiated the registry 5 years ago. "Our goal is to expand the registry to 500,000 people. That will enable us to find matches for the vast majority of Jews in need of bone marrow transplants."

Transplant recipients must be nearly identical matches with their donors for tissue-type markers known as HLA proteins. Chances for a match increase significantly if the patient and potential donor share the same ethnic background.

Galia, 33, is one of the registry's success stories. 3 years ago, on the day of one of Ezer Mizion's bone marrow drives, she was shopping at Tel Aviv's Dizengoff shopping center. When she passed by the bone marrow station, she filled out a form and gave a small blood sample. "The whole process of joining the registry took 5 minutes," she says.

Two years later, Galia got a message on her answering machine informing her that she might be a match for someone in need of a bone marrow transplant. "I was very excited. I had never won anything, not a lottery, not even a weekend at a hotel. But this time I really felt lucky," she says.

Galia took another blood test and was confirmed to be a compatible donor. "The donation process was very short and simple," she says. "I left work in the afternoon, went to the hospital, and basically gave blood. A small tube connected my arm to a machine that separated stem cells from my blood, and the rest of the blood was returned to my other arm. Two little needle pricks, I watched TV for a few hours, and that was it."

"I don't know who the recipient is, but I know that he is a father and still among the living. I want people to know that donating bone marrow didn't hurt me at all, but it was the difference between life and death for somebody."

Those interested in joining the registry, organizing bone marrow drives, or sponsoring the cost of tissue-typing can obtain more information by contacting Ezer Mizion at (02)537- 8070 or at international@ezer-mizion.org.il.

 

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