The World's Largest Jewish Bone Marrow Donor Registry
In 1996, Moshe Schayek, a young man desperate for a bone marrow transplant, turned to Ezer Mizion for assistance in finding a matching donor. Ezer Mizion’s Cancer Support Division helped his family coordinate a bone marrow drive, but no match was found among the 5,000 people who participated in the drive. Sadly, the young man died, but he left a legacy that has enabled dozens of other sick Jews to live. This led to the establishment of Ezer Mizion’s International Bone Marrow Donor Registry.
Since the establishment in 1998, Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Donor Registry has handled thousands of search requests from dozens of transplant centers in 48 countries around the world. Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Registry has facilitated 5,290 stem cell transplants, saving the lives of patients throughout the world and sparing thousands of people untold anguish.
Click here to view 2021 Annual Report: Bone Marrow Donor Registry and Cancer Support Services
As of May 1, 2024, the Bone Marrow Registry has grown to include more than 1,214,324 potential donors!
In compliance with international standards, the Bone Marrow Registry accepts donor search requests and facilitates transplants for all patients. Today, Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Registry is the largest Jewish registry in the world. Because donors and recipients need to be genetically compatible, patients of Jewish ethnicity will generally require stem cell donors of the same ethnic origin. The Bone Marrow Registry is thus a vital resource for thousands and serves as a safety net for Jewish patients everywhere.
Ezer Mizion’s bone marrow registry is affiliated with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP, USA) and is a member of Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide (BMDW, Netherlands). Ezer Mizion’s Registry is an accredited member of World Marrow Donors Association (WMDA), the international association that sets global standards for registries worldwide.
Under the direction of Dr. Bracha Zisser, Director of Ezer Mizion’s cancer support services and Ofra Konikoff, Chief Transplant Coordinator, the bone marrow registry continues to grow, offering the gift of life and hope to growing numbers of patients.
Personalized Donor Pool
What is a “Personalized Donor Pool”?
A “Personalized Donor Pool” is a unique opportunity for an individual or group to become a sponsor of the DNA testing of a segment of Ezer Mizion’s Registry. The pool can be named in honor or in memory of a loved one. Upon initial testing, every sample is given a tracking code.
As a sponsor, he will look forward to the gratification of receiving personal notification in detail each time a registrant from “his pool” donates his life-saving marrow. One cannot imagine a greater joy than hearing the words: You have saved a life!
Established in 1998,Ezer Mizion is the largest Jewish registry in the world. But even the largest is not large enough. A “Personalized Donor Pool” will enable significant growth of the Registry thus substantially increasing the probability of saving the life of each patient whose sole chance of survival is a transplant.
For more information on how you can become a partner in saving lives by establishing a personalized donor pool in the name of your choice, please contact the Ezer Mizion Office by phone at 718-853-8400 or via e-mail.
BONE MARROW AND JEWISH GENETICS
Bone marrow contains stem cells, the cells that produce blood. A bone marrow transplant from a healthy donor can enable a person with diseased bone marrow to begin producing blood cells.
Bone marrow transplants are used as therapy for about 100 different illnesses, including leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, diseases of the blood, and enzyme deficiencies. These diseases destroy bone marrow, which contains the stem cells responsible for manufacturing blood cells. Chemotherapy and radiation, the most common methods of destroying cancerous cells, also destroy healthy bone marrow cells. For people with diseased or damaged bone marrow, a transplant from a genetically compatible donor is often the only hope for recovery.
THE TRANSPLANT PROCESS
Ezer Mizion holds bone marrow drives – in Israel – regularly to register new potential stem cell donors. Each new registrant provides a cheek swab sample, which is used to compare specific genetic markers, known as human leukocyte antigens (HLA) with HLA markers of patients who need a bone marrow transplant. The results are then recorded in the Ezer Mizion registry which is committed to keep the donors and patients information confidential in order to protect their rights and privacy.
FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS
Request Forms Please use the WMDA forms for search, typing, verification and work-up requests. Complete the forms and submit via email/fax. You can find the WMDA forms here.
Procedures for Transplant Centers and Cooperative Registries This guide sets out the regulations and procedures to be followed by Transplant Centers (TC) and Cooperative Registries using Ezer Mizion services.
Operations Manual Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Registry provides hematopoietic stem cells obtained from individuals recruited as volunteer donors to patients in need in Israel and in any other country worldwide.
Contact Information
Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Registry staff is happy to be of assistance and at your service. Contact us for any of your registry related needs.
Ezer Mizion BMDR
40 Kaplan Street | Petach Tikvah, 49210 | Israel
F +972-3-921-9654 | T +972-3-927-7772
ezermizion@bmdr.org.il