Tag: DNA match

Absolutely Not!

Another success story at Ezer Mizion International Bone Marrow Registry

“Absolutely not!” he said. Again and again. Each time the subject was brought up.  “No! A thousand percent NO, NO, NO!”

That’s my son. Stubborn as they come. I can’t say I blame him. After all, he’s a teenager and just wants to be like everyone else. He went through a lot, that son of mine. For a while it was touch and go and, at his age, there was no way to hide the situation from him.  That’s a pretty scary package for a young boy of eleven to handle. Now he just wanted to be normal. Like his friends. He didn’t want anyone to google his name and suddenly be confronted with a bald replica of his younger self. He wanted to erase that nightmare from his history. Click ‘delete’ and it never happened. A meeting with his donor? Absolutely not! And there’d be cameras. He’d make it on the internet. There for everyone to see. There for him to see. A massive to-do in technicolor, highlighting what he would only want to expunge from his psyche. And so the answer was NO!

 A stem cell transplant had been his last chance to survive and, for a long time, there was no matching donor on the horizon.  It was only through Ezer Mizion that a DNA match was finally found. As parents, we wanted the opportunity to say thank you to this amazing person who gave his all to help someone he didn’t even know.

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Mazel Tov! We’ve Reached 1,000,000!

pr bmr Omer Babi - 1 millionth potential donor in registryBecause of your generosity, Ezer Mizion, world’s largest Jewish registry, has reached the MILLION MARK! What does that mean?   The success of a bone marrow transplant is dependent on the genetic match between donor and recipient. With Israel’s wide range of ethnic groups, many of them IDF recruits,  we have succeeded in amassing a registry of ONE MILLION potential donors. These registrants are  of highly varied genetic makeup so that when a cancer patient is in need of a bone marrow transplant, the chances of finding a DNA match in time, before it’s too late, are very good! However, there are still many who wait in hope and prayer for the match that will mean LIFE and we will not stop enlarging the registry until until every single request received from any part of the world can be answered with a triumphant, YES! WE HAVE A MATCH!

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Each genetic test costs $50. Your gift will help save lives.
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A Thank You Note from Italy

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Italy is one of many countries around the globe whose oncology clinics contact Ezer Mizion to facilitate the transplant that will save the lives of Jewish patients.

Dear Sirs,

My name is Annalisa T. I am writing from Italy to thank with all my heart the Israeli donor who will try to save the life of my husband Mr Luca B: he will receive a bone marrow transplant between the end of April and the beginning of May at the hospital of Santa Chiara in Pisa, Italy. He is fighting, since May 2017, against a LLA (Leukemia). Continue reading A Thank You Note from ItalyFacebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

The Boeing Corporation Saves Lives

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David Ivry

Can one even begin to imagine the helplessness of being in a plane thousands of feet in the air when the plane is no longer responding to the control mechanisms? You  – a tiny speck in the vast sky –  and the hitherto dependable controls now no more than bits of disconnected metal and plastic… alone… exposed…powerless. David Ivry, former Israel Ambassador to the United States, the ninth commander of the Israel Air Force and the first director of the Israel’s National Security Council was a man used to being in control. Yet, he tells of his experience in the scenario described above. “It seemed to be all over. Then I remembered I had one chance: the ejection seat. I used it and I was saved.” Continue reading The Boeing Corporation Saves LivesFacebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

A Bone Marrow Transplant between Strangers or Perhaps…

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New registrants for Ezer Mizion’s International Bone Marrow Registry whose ancestors hailed from all over the globe.

 

Imagine having an airplane view of the entire world. Not only the world but of generations. What would you see? You’d immediately notice the hubbub in America as Ezer Mizion launches a nationwide campaign to raise funds to sponsor genetic testing for thousands of new potential donors to register at its Bone Marrow Registry. The money pours in. You all give so generously.  The funds are transferred to Israel to pay for the cost of the testing. The genetic data of these young men and women is entered to remain on the database for decades.

Now your eyes flit to the right and you see sadness. Such sadness. Continue reading A Bone Marrow Transplant between Strangers or Perhaps…Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

45 Years of Tears: The Bone Marrow Transplant that Never Was

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“Where were you 45 years ago when my son needed a bone marrow transplant?”

At Ezer Mizion’s busy office, the phone does not stop ringing. At times, it is the ubiquitous telemarketing call. Other calls may be requesting information about the bone marrow registry. Some calls can be as brief as several sentences but leave the staff member stunned. Like this one received by Chani :

“Where were you 45 years ago? When my son needed a bone marrow transplant? I took my two daughters to be tested at UCLA but they were not a genetic match.” Then her voice faltered, “Before we could try more people, my son— my son—- my son died.” Her voice broke but she tried to continue speaking, “I want to give you a donation. Your organization is so important.  I only wish it had been in existence 45 years ago. Perhaps he could have received a bone marrow transplant. Perhaps he could have been saved.” She was overcome by tears and hung up the phone.   The pain of losing a child does not disappear, even after 45 yrs. Continue reading 45 Years of Tears: The Bone Marrow Transplant that Never WasFacebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

What Goes Around, Comes Around

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Helping another makes the world go ’round

It’s been said many times. Help others when you can. It’s a chessed. It’s the right thing to do. And, in addition, you never know when you may be on the other side of the fence. Batya is proof of this. About fifteen years ago, her daughter’s kidney issues that she had suffered with since the age of twelve reached a new low and only a kidney transplant could save her. Batya and her son were both good matches but Batya insisted that she be the one to donate. Her son has his whole life ahead of him. Should anything go wrong, she felt she could never forgive herself. Shortly after the transplant, her daughter gave birth to the first of two adorable grandchildren for Batya to cuddle and spoil. Imagine, a few days of discomfort and Batya earned grandchildren, great-grandchildren…eternity.

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Matching DNA for a successful transplant

All was wonderful in her world until fifteen years later when Batya found herself on the other side of the fence. Continue reading What Goes Around, Comes AroundFacebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Registry: Many of You Have Asked…

Does Ezer Mizion provide transplants to Israel residents only?

 

Ezer Mizion receives Search Requests from oncology clinics around the globe. DNA matching is based on ethnics. As the largest Jewish Registry in the world, Ezer Mizion is the natural address for an oncology clinic working with a Jewish patient in Europe, Russia, South Africa, South America, Australia, Canada and the US.

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Ezer Mizion saves lives around the globe.

 

In April 2017, 14 of 31 transplants were done for Israeli residents and 17 for countries around the world including 6 in US and Canada.

 

Did the partnership with the IDF create any significant change in the success of finding DNA matches?

 

Due to IDF recruits being young and healthy, they remain on the database for decades, thus greatly increasing the chances of eventually being found to be a match for a patient. In addition, they come from highly varied backgrounds resulting in much increased representation among minority ethnic groups.

 

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IDF recruit being congratulated on his saving a life

In April 2017, 18 of the 21 transplants funded by donor pools are IDF recruits, some having been inducted and joined the registry just a few months ago.

 

How long, on the average, does it take for a new Bone Marrow Donor Pool to receive the at long awaited letter: You have saved a life!

 

There can, of course, be no guarantees. In April of 2017, 4 of the 21 transplants funded by donor pools were opened within the last half year.

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Ezer Mizion and The IDF: A Life-Saving Partnership

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Stem Cell Harvesting

In recent years, a bone marrow transplant has been proven to be the cure for a myriad of diseases.  Many forms of cancer including leukemia and lymphoma in addition to other diseases such as sickle cell anemia and SCID are only some of the life-threatening illnesses that have bowed to its power. Like penicillin, a bone marrow transplant can save lives. But unlike penicillin, it cannot simply be purchased at the local pharmacy.

WHY NOT? Continue reading Ezer Mizion and The IDF: A Life-Saving PartnershipFacebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail