Moraz Feingold, 19, from Kfar Veradim, was found to be a perfect match for a bone marrow donation to an anonymous cancer patient and she gladly agreed to go through with it. “There wasn’t a moment’s doubt. If someone gives you an opportunity to take part in saving a person’s life – you don’t refuse.”
The story began about a year ago. Upon Feingold’s induction into the IDF, she voluntarily signed up for Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Registry, without having an inkling of what awaits her. Four months later, she got an unexpected phone call informing her that she was found to be at least an 80% match for donating bone marrow to a cancer patient. After undergoing additional tests, she was found to be a 100% match and was ready to carry out the donation procedure.
Then she heard that the cancerous cells had returned to the body of the intended recipient, and so the bone marrow donation was postponed to an unknown future date.
A few months ago, when the intended recipient’s condition improved, Feingold was contacted once more, and she again responded willingly.
“All I know about him is that he is a male weighing 85 kilo. Because of the contrast between his weight and mine, they gave me double the number of injections, for 5 days, in order to increase production of the stem cells in my body.
Last Monday (May 26th), Moraz and her parents reported to Schneider Hospital, where she was hooked up to a bone-marrow screening machine for 5 hours, after which her cell donation was transferred to the mysterious patient.
Only in another year will they be able to determine if the donation was accepted and how well.
“It’s unbelievable to think that so many cells from my body are circulating in the body of someone I don’t even know. I strongly urge everyone to join the Bone Marrow Registry. Registering is so simple, and if you are found to be a good match – the donation procedure doesn’t hurt and is very satisfying. I hope that awareness of this simple process will gain momentum and that more and more young people will join the Registry. It is an unreal privilege to have a hand in saving a life,” Feingold summed up.
Savyon Yechieli, head of Kefar Veradim’s City Council: “Moraz is a courageous, generous young woman and we are proud of her choice to join the Registry. I am hopeful that her deeds will encourage other young people in our town and in the entire country to join the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry and save cancer patients with their donation.
There are not many occasions in life when we can give without expecting to get something in return. These rare moments are the crux of our lives as a society that looks after the individuals living in it. May there be many young people like Moraz.”
