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TZEDAKAH
Miracle Matches
Until recently, the Gift of Life Bone
Marrow Foundation operated primarily in North America. Now Halana
Rosenfield, a native of Queens, New York, who immigrated to Ramat Beit
Shemesh, is operating an Israeli branch. by Gila Green
It is an
overwhelming exercise for most people to consider the long-term effects
of the Holocaust on the Jewish people. One effect that few people are
aware of is that entire bloodlines were destroyed, making it difficult
to find genetic matches for many Jewish cancer victims who need stem
cell donations.
Stem cells found in
bone marrow help regenerate blood and the immune system after
chemotherapy treatment destroys cancer cells. When no one in a cancer
patient’s family is a genetic match to donate stem cells, the most
likely donor is someone from the same ethnic group. However, as a result
of the Holocaust, Jews are underrepresented in bone marrow donor
registries worldwide. Before the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation was
created, Jewish families were forced to search for matches on their own,
with whatever financial resources they had available. Today, the Gift of
Life has 100,000 potential donors registered; 10 years after its
establishment, it receives twice as many requests as the average
registry in the U.S. and has an umbilical cord program.
The organization
works hard to increase its donor base and has become well-known in the
Jewish community. However, since many North American Jews are not
involved in Jewish communal life, they are not aware of the problem of
Jewish underrepresentation in national registries or the solution that
the Gift of Life could provide. Cooperating with organizations such as
Taglit-birthright israel, which brings thousands of young Jews to Israel
each year, allows it to reach out to potential donors who might never
see an advertisement for Gift of Life in America, says Halana Rosenfield,
who made aliya from the U.S. in 2000 and operates the Gift of Life’s new
branch in Israel.
From Tragedy to Giving Life
Halana’s
eighteen-month-old daughter, Chani, was diagnosed with cancer (neuroblastoma)
in 2002. Chani’s hospital roommate at Hadassah University Hospital in
Jerusalem needed a blood stem cell transplant. Halana’s husband, Daniel,
flew to New York, raised $140,000, and ran nine recruitment drives in
only one week in the hope of finding a matching donor for his “second
daughter.” Tragically, Halana’s daughter Chani passed away in 2004.
Although a match was
not found in time for Chani’s roommate, and she too passed away, the
Rosenfields’ extensive efforts to raise the funds and run the drives
were not for naught. Seven of the almost 2,000 people they tested that
week turned out to be potential life-saving matches for other patients.
The Rosenfields became increasingly involved with Gift of Life since
2004. The organization soon realized that there was a need to conduct
regular drives in Israel and over time Halana’s position evolved from
that of a volunteer to an employee. Now she works closely with
organizations that bring North American tourists to Israel and runs
regular drives. Kedma, an international student organization focusing on
social justice, has partnered with Gift of Life to actively run drives
for the students in yeshivot and seminaries in Israel.
“I test everyone I
can because I always think of Jay Feinberg’s story and it reminds me
that just one more person is so important. He or she could be the person
that saves a life,” she says.
Feinberg, a New
Jersey resident who was suffering from leukemia, spent years searching
for a donor. Finally, the doctors told him that there was literally no
more time. One final drive was put together and the last person tested
(Becky Faibisoff, a volunteer who helped run the drive) turned out to be
Feinberg’s miracle match. Feinberg did not want others to go through his
ordeal, so he established the Gift of Life.
The Donor’s View
On September 11,
2001, Sharona Rosenberg, an olah from Toronto who now resides in Ramat
Beit Shemesh, agreed to go ahead with her blood stem cell donation in
spite of the fact that the Twin Towers had just been attacked within
viewing distance of the New York hospital where her collection was
scheduled. The entire hospital had entered a state of emergency. This
left Rosenberg as a donor in less than ideal circumstances, but she
persevered.
“I attended a drive
in 1998 at Magen David Adom and had forgotten all about it when I got a
telephone call four years later. To tell you the truth, I can’t stand
blood tests, it freaked me out a little, but I knew the amount of pain
I’d go through was inconsequential compared to a recipient,” she says.
Rosenberg says she
felt relieved to find out that her recipient needed her blood stem cells
and not her bone marrow “because the collection procedure is much less
invasive.” A bone marrow transplant involves actual surgery. “Donating
blood stem cells is similar to giving blood,” she explains.
She adds that there
was a rush for her to donate because she was getting married that August
and a donor cannot be pregnant, post-natal for at least four months, or
nursing. On the other hand, her recipient did not yet need the
transplant. So, they decided to do the collection early and freeze the
blood stem cells, in order to avoid these issues later on.
She began receiving
routine injections of a medication that caused her bone marrow to
overproduce blood stem cells and release them into her blood stream once
a day for five days before donation. “My knees hurt a little and the
injection does hurt for two seconds,” she recalls.
On September 11,
2001, at 9 a.m., one of her arms was being prepped for the procedure.
Since the veins in her arms were too small for the apheresis procedure,
she had a central line inserted in her neck to make the collection
easier for her. Suddenly, the hospital went into a state of emergency.
Rosenberg was rushed to a dialysis room instead of the usual oncology
ward. As a result, the blood-warming machine was inaccessible and the
blood returning into her body was cold.
Her recipient
received her blood stem cells in April 2002 and she was notified that he
needed a second transplant a year later. This time, there was no terror
attack and the entire procedure was much more comfortable and routine.
“I was drugged, in my own clothes, my own chair, and with the right
machines! It was five hours to help save someone’s life, that’s all,”
she says. Her generosity gave a stranger another three years of life.
Both Rosenberg and
her mother corresponded with her recipient. On October 1, 2003, he
wrote, “The results of my latest biopsy a few weeks ago were extremely
disappointing, and I was again told that my odds of success were
declining. I’ve been redoubling my efforts at keeping a fighting
attitude and trying to beat this disease. Well ... I went in to the
hospital today for another routine blood test and some injections, and
was just waiting around for the test results when I was brought a copy
of your mother’s latest letter to me. Almost as soon as I finished
reading it, and smiling inside at her words, my main nurse came in, and
was looking me over when he got a funny look on his face. He called in
one of the doctors to look also, and they both started smiling. It
appears that I may be developing a Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD) rash on
my back. Now I know it sounds weird to be hoping for a disease, or
additional ailment ... but basically, GVHD would imply that YOUR cells
are now fighting back and trying to make progress, rather than giving
up!!!! Also, for the first time in quite a while, my white blood counts
appear to be increasing on their own, without the aid of injections.”
Rosenberg recalls,
“In May 2004, we met at Gift of Life’s Gala dinner in New York. I can’t
speak for anyone who has to donate bone marrow, but as a blood stem cell
donor, I would do it again to save or even prolong someone’s life. There
is no question I would do it again.”
...
The full
article appeared in
ERETZ Magazine 106. To read it,
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