The numbers are going up and up. As you, our dear friends and supporters contributed more and more, we were able to test more potential stem cell donors, greatly enlarging the registry. As of late, more than one stem cell per day takes place and numbers in the forties for the monthly report are the norm.
What is not the norm is what happened recently. Six! Six transplants in one day! Six families smiling in joy! Six Jewish lives saved in one single day! The very air in Ezer Mizion seemed to reverberate with happiness.
These moments of joy are no longer few and far between. Noam, who had donated stem cells over a year ago, met Yehuda for the first time. The atmosphere was electrified as the two embraced, the tears of one mingling with those of the other. A visiting delegation from Brazil witnessed the miraculous meeting and spontaneously broke out in an exuberant dance. Round and around and around. A circle of oneness. Of one language…the language of the heart.
Some spend their lives searching for that elusive happiness. Yet some know instinctively where it can be found. Dor was one of the few. A newlywed on his honeymoon with his new wife, they had planned the trip of a lifetime. But that didn’t stop them from making a sharp turnaround when the call came in.
“ Dor, you have been found to be a match for a cancer patient. You can save his life by donating your stem cells. Are you willing?”
No hesitation. No apologetic ‘We’re on our honeymoon…’ Only an instantaneous response of “Where and when do you need me?”
Later he commented, “This is the ultimate honeymoon. Sharing the experience together.”
Congratulations, Dor. Tell your wife she made a good choice.
The majority of donors are located in Israel. So what happens when a patient in the UK, Europe, S. America, Australia or the US is in need of a transplant? The answer as you probably guessed, is Ezer Mizion. An army of volunteers stand ready to fly with that little plastic bag of life, as it is termed, to anyplace on the globe.
Moshe is one of those devoted volunteers but recently found himself on the ‘other side of the desk’. You see, his sister is ill. She is currently being treated in the US and was in need of a stem cell transplant. The perfect genetic match was her brother, Moshe. Normally an Ezer Mizion courier, Moshe now lay on a comfortable recliner producing that little bag of life to be brought across the ocean to save his sister.
And so to you, our invaluable friends, we wish you were here with us to experience the daily moments of joy. May you all be blessed.
