By Sammy Intrator In 2019, during my gap year at Yeshivat Orayta in the Old City of Jerusalem, a Gift of Life representative came to speak with us about the incredible story of its founder and CEO, Jay Feinberg. Thirty years ago, at the age of 22 — not much older than me — Jay was told by his doctor that he had leukemia and that his only chance of survival was a bone marrow transplant from a donor who had a similar ethnic background.

Stem cell donor Rabbi Eliana Yolkut, 43, from Washington, D.C., met her recipient Dalia Gera, a 39-year-old interior designer from Mazkeret Batya, Israel during the Steps for Life closing ceremony. They were introduced by Gift of Life Chairman Emeritus and Board Member, William A. Begal.

Annabelle Kopcan, a senior who is majoring in speech language pathology, went way out of her comfort zone to save the life of a stranger. Kopcan donated her stem cells through the Gift of Life Marrow Registry to a man in Florida who was battling a type of blood cancer.

Gift of Life Marrow Registry and the residents of Coastal Club community will host a bone marrow drive for a young Lewes resident battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and in desperate need of a marrow transplant to save his life.

A bone marrow transplant needed for a 19-month old in Lewes. According to the Cape Gazette, Mylz Anderson-Finney was diagnosed in February with acute lymphoblastic leukemia – but your help is needed to find his perfect donor match. This is the most common type of cancer in children – however none of his family members is a match. If you are 18 to 35 and in good health – please join the Gift of Life Marrow Registry. If you’re biracial – you are especially encouraged to participate.

When a patient battling blood cancer needs a bone marrow transplant, their chances of survival are very low unless a match is found. Unfortunately, the chance of an immediate familial match is only 30%. Courtney Ketchum, a former Cancer Center at Illinois student, is supporting patients in their fight against cancer by founding the campus chapter of Gift of Life.