by Mike Rosenberg
The Maimonides School
Reprinted with permission
This year, teachers at the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA have presented a unique graduation gift to each member of its Class of 2007: the opportunity to join Gift of Life’s registry, now, or immediately upon their 18th birthday.
“We have raised money to pay the lab costs for processing each sample,” Rabbi Yair Altshuler, Maimonides Middle and Upper School principal, told parents of the seniors. “The kit is thus a gift to your daughter or son. In return, she or he might someday have the merit of saving a life.”
The Class of 2007 is the last class at Maimonides to have studied with English teacher Sharon Steiff, a”h, who died of leukemia in January 2004. A bone marrow screening at the school in August 2003 resulted in the addition of 613 new donors to Gift of Life’s registry, and has even yielded a successful match! (Read about the transplant that saved a life here).
“While she hoped and prayed that a match would be found for her, Sharon was sure that matches would be made for others as a result of her drive. Knowing that gave her great pleasure and comfort,” Suzi Fuld of Brookline told the seniors. Mrs. Fuld, a Maimonides parent who first befriended Miss Steiff almost 30 years ago, organized the donor screening for the graduating class.
“The chances of finding matches for Jewish patients increase with more Jewish people in the registry,” Mrs. Fuld pointed out. “And that was how I came up with this idea of a graduation gift of life. If every day school student in the country got tested as soon as they turned 18, they could be in the registry until they turn 61, and have the potential to save lives for many decades.”
The seniors’ introduction to the registry was a two-day process, beginning with consideration of bone marrow and stem cell donation from the scientific and medical perspective, as well as from the view of Jewish law. Before committing, they heard details on cancer as a disease, and the variables involved in matching transplants, from Dr. David Fisher, an oncologist and father of four Maimonides students. Also addressing the class was Rabbi David Shapiro, Maimonides School rosh yeshiva, who examined Jewish teachings on the central importance of saving human life.
The following day, Gift of Life volunteers Louise Cohen and Geri Feldman directed the participating students through the release forms and the sampling process--which consists of a series of swabs inside the cheek. Students not yet 18 completed forms so that they will receive a birthday greeting from Gift of Life--and instructions on how to order a testing kit online.
“We are proud to be the first Day School to offer such a program,” Rabbi Altshuler said. “Gift of Life intends to share our teaching materials with other day schools and to encourage them to follow our lead.”