Because of You!
Tag: bone marrow
Torch of Chessed: Bone Marrow Transplant
“From today, you are a part of us. Osher, you are our “osher,” our joy”
With these moving words, Yossie Ben-Chamu (66) from Jerusalem addressed Osher Ankonina (40) from Teverya, the stem cell donor who saved his life.
Right in the middle of Chanukah, a thrilling encounter took place between the two at Oranit. After a difficult period of illness, Ben-Chamu was told that only a bone marrow transplant could save his life. After an auto-transplant was unsuccessful, Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Donor Registry came into the picture, and a matching donor was found for him — Osher.
The transplant brought to an end a long and grueling period of treatments. To the exciting meeting between the two, Ben Chamu brought a gift — a Chanukah menorah designed according to the Djerba tradition. Ankonina immediately identified the traditional menorah, since his family is from the same ethnic background. “I am standing here, opposite you, an open miracle, all thanks to you, baruch Hashem. You gave me hope and life,” said Ben Chamu tearfully.
“The meetings between donor and recipient carry great importance for the patient, too, but primarily for the donor,” says Dr. Bracha Zisser, director of Ezer Mizion’s International Bone Marrow Donor Registry and Oranit.
“For the patient, the meeting is a chance to say “thank you” for the gift of life that was given to him. But for the donor, it has even greater significance: He gets to see the one whom he saved and understand the meaning of his donation. Many times, people say regarding a stem cell transplant, “Whoever saves one Jewish life, it is as if he saved an entire world.” But the transplant does not only save one Jewish life; it saves the lives of all the patient’s relatives — his children, parents, friends — entire worlds whose lives were saved, thanks to the donation.”
Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Donor Registry is the fifth largest in the world, numbering 1,052,113 potential donors. So far, 3,801 lifesaving transplants have taken place, among them, 43 transplants that were done just this past month.
Because of You!
| Donor Pool Name | October 2020 Transplants | Total Transplants |
| Blood Brothers | 2 | 13 |
| Brazil Community | 3 | 204 |
| Elliott & Lynn Dolin | 1 | 7 |
| El-Ad Modiin Community | 1 | 2 |
| Englewood Community | 1 | 3 |
| David & Sara Farajun | 1 | 144 |
| Hershel Fink | 1 | 2 |
| Florida | 1 | 18 |
| Gabor Vardi | 1 | 6 |
| Guardians of Life | 1 | 2 |
| Yaakov David ben Simcha Mordechai | 1 | 5 |
| Hope4Adam | 1 | 12 |
| Hall Family | 1 | 3 |
| Hole In One | 2 | 76 |
| Leora Kuhillow | 1 | 15 |
| Lechu Neranena Raanana Community | 2 | 7 |
| Rubin & Mollie Lazarus | 1 | 3 |
| Liat, Noam & Eden Neubert | 1 | 1 |
| Ronald O. Perelman | 1 | 41 |
| George & Pamela Rohr | 1 | 80 |
| Ira & Ingeborg Rennert | 1 | 172 |
| Danielle Sonnenfeld | 1 | 3 |
Because of You!
BONE MARROW DONOR REGISTRY ACTIVITY SUMMARY
In September 2020:
27 transplants, 23 of these from donor pools
3,724 total transplants
10,033 new members this month
1,045,002 total members in registry
Transplant Countries
Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Slovenia, UK, USA
Donor Pool Countries
Brazil, Israel, Mexico, UK, USA
Because of You!
June 1, 2020
BONE MARROW DONOR REGISTRY ACTIVITY SUMMARY
In May there were:
30 transplants, 25 of these from donor pools
3,596 total transplants
4,928 new members this month
1,035,790 total members in registry
Transplant Countries
Canada, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Norway, Poland, UK, USA
Donor Pool Countries
Brazil, Canada, Israel, USA
| Donor Pool Name | May 2020 Transplants | Total Transplants |
| Tuvia Theo Bloom | 1 | 5 |
| Brazil Community | 4 | 195 |
| Damaghi Family | 4 | 86 |
| David & Sara Farajun | 1 | 139 |
| Florida | 1 | 15 |
| Freescale Israel | 1 | 3 |
| Gaash Golf | 1 | 2 |
| Heichal Moshe & N. Tel Aviv | 1 | 3 |
| Jewish Bone Marrow Testing Fund | 1 | 65 |
| Moshe & Tzippy Kammar | 1 | 1 |
| Lechu Neranena Raanana Community | 1 | 5 |
| Moriel & Anat Matalon | 1 | 6 |
| Irving & Cherna Moskowitz Fd. | 1 | 40 |
| Morris & Rickie Platt | 1 | 4 |
| Israel & Edith Pollak | 1 | 18 |
| Chaim Rav-Acha | 1 | 1 |
| Reuven & Tzipora Schlussel & Family | 1 | 1 |
| Oded & Zoharit Shriki | 1 | 1 |
| Steven E. & Bonnie B. Stern | 1 | 8 |
One Million!
The President of the World Marrow Donor Association, Professor Jeff Szer, flew in from Australia to join Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Registry in celebrating its historic milestone of One Million registrants. . The celebration was attended by Israel’s Minister of Health and Minister of Defense, dignitaries and leaders from the medical and community sectors, together with financial sponsors, stem cell donors and recipients. Continue reading One Million!
Flying High
Flying 35,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean is not an easy job! Ofer had already spent 17 years as a fighter pilot in the IDF. In 2003 he left the reserves and joined El-Al full time. “Most people don’t realize that being a pilot is a very dangerous profession. When you know it is dangerous, you are safe but when you think it is easy, when you’re a cowboy, you are unsafe! A pilot’s job is to always be alert in case something happens.” Ofer always remained alert with hundreds of travelers under his wing, quite literally! Continue reading Flying High
Because of You!
October 2019 – BONE MARROW DONOR REGISTRY ACTIVITY SUMMARY
Milestone this month!
999,268 Members of the Registry. 559,854 of those who joined registry via the IDF
33 transplants, 27 of these from donor pools
3,362 total transplants (of these 2,078 joined the registry as part of their induction to the IDF)
Transplant Countries
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland,
Portugal, Spain, Turkey, UK, USA
Donor Pool Countries
Canada, Israel, Mexico, UK, USA
| Donor Pool Name | October 2019 Transplants | Total Transplants |
| ABS Settlement | 1 | 15 |
| Blood Brothers | 1 | 8 |
| René & Susanne Braginsky | 1 | 6 |
| Brazil Community | 2 | 178 |
| Damaghi Family | 1 | 72 |
| Englewood Community | 1 | 1 |
| Erotex Ltd. | 1 | 1 |
| David & Sara Farajun | 2 | 129 |
| Florida | 1 | 9 |
| Hole In One | 1 | 53 |
| Don Marcos & Sra. Adina Katz | 1 | 73 |
| Joe & Carmella Klein | 1 | 17 |
| Andy & Bassy Lowinger | 1 | 4 |
| Modiin Youth | 1 | 1 |
| David Monderer | 1 | 1 |
| Nitzan Community | 2 | 6 |
| George & Pamela Rohr | 3 | 74 |
| Dan & Gloria Schusterman | 1 | 19 |
| Moshe Mordechai & Rivka Dalia Shoob | 1 | 1 |
| Stu’s | 1 | 3 |
| Avi & Shoshi Weinroth | 1 | 4 |
| Maurice & Vivienne Wohl Philan. Fndn. | 1 | 27 |
So You Got A Call To Be A Stem Cell Donor?
“Good morning. Is this Mr. Hyman? I’m calling from the bone marrow registry. You have been found to be a match for a cancer patient!”
I was sitting in my office when I received that call. I had been tested sometime around 1998 and had not thought about that day in years. Then, quite literally, out of the blue, I was asked if I would be willing to go through further testing to confirm that I was a match for “the patient.”
My response was simple: tell me what to do!! The caller from the registry went through some basic info and made sure to tell me that while the procedure for me as a potential stem cell donor, was safe, it was still my choice and “are you sure you want to go through this process?” Continue reading So You Got A Call To Be A Stem Cell Donor?
Because of You!
June 2019
BONE MARROW DONOR REGISTRY ACTIVITY SUMMARY
34 transplants, 28 from donor pools
3,230 total transplants (of these 1,965 from the IDF)
985,186 members in registry (of these 544,281 from the IDF)
Transplant Countries
Argentina, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, UK, USA
Donor Pool Countries
Brazil, Canada, Israel, USA
