Koreh B’Kefar Veradim
July 30, 2014
Moraz Feingold, 19, from Kefar Veradim, was found to be a match for a bone marrow donation to an anonymous cancer patient. “I did not hesitate for a moment. If someone gives you a chance to take part in saving a human life – you don’t refuse.”
It all started a year ago, on the day of Feingold’s induction to the IDF, when she voluntarily joined Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Registry, without having an inkling of what was to come. Four months later, she got a phone call informing her that she was found to be at least an 80% match for a bone marrow donation to a cancer patient. The tension was palpable. All she could think about during that period was what she referred to as her “mark”. “Would I get a 100?” There were more tests. Finally, the tension was over. Indeed she did receive a 100. She was a perfect genetic match and the donation process was ready to begin.
However, nothing is simple regarding a cancer patient. His condition deteriorated. The bone marrow transplant was deferred indefinitely.
The roller coaster ride continued. This time up. A few months ago, when the patient’s condition improved, Feingold was contacted once again, and again she responded very happily.
“All I know about him is that he is a male weighing 85 kilo. Because of the difference in our weights, they gave me double the number of injections over the course of five days, so as to increase stem cell production in my body.”
The exciting day finally arrived! Moraz reported to the Schneider Hospital, accompanied by her parents. There, they attached her for five hours to a machine that filtered out the stem cells from her blood stream. After that, her stem cell donation was transferred to the unknown recipient.
“It’s wild to think that so many cells from my body are circulating in the body of someone else whom I don’t even know. All the same, I highly recommend that every person join a bone marrow registry. Joining is really simple, and if you are found to be a match, the donation process is not painful and is very fulfilling. I hope that awareness of this simple procedure will grow, and that more and more young people will enter the registry. It is an unbelievable privilege to have a part in saving a life,” Feingold concluded.
Sivan Yechieli, head of the Kefar Veradim city council: “Moraz is a courageous and generous young woman and we are proud of her decision to join the registry. It is our hope that her deed will inspire other young people in our town and throughout the country to join Ezer Mizion’s registry and save cancer patients with a relatively simple process.”
“There are very few occasions in life when we can give without expecting anything in return, and these rare moments are the essence of our lives as a society that cares about its members. May there be many more people like Moraz.”
