Gift of Life Marrow donor Judah Berger met his transplant recipient Bernie Weiner for the first time at the Gift of Life Campus Ambassador Symposium at the Boca Raton Marriott on August 7, 2018.

Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) is celebrating a special chai benchmark- the 18th bone marrow transplant found and facilitated by the Gift of Life Marrow Registry from a member of the FJC Gift of Life donor circle. Through our partnership to grow the donor registry, one quick and painless act- swabbing your cheek to enter a public bone marrow and blood stem cell registry- can result in a match and a transplant for a child or adult suffering from a life-threatening illness.

The Gift of Life Marrow Registry, the international bone marrow registry that helps patients suffering from blood cancer, is relocating its headquarters within Boca Raton. The move in early 2019 will create about 20 new jobs, according to a company spokeswoman.

When you hear Traci Pruitt and Tom Koerner talk about this past weekend, you would have thought they are family members or close friends catching up. But they were complete strangers until Saturday. Pruitt and Koerner met for the first time this weekend in Los Angeles, after Koerner donated his bone marrow to Pruitt in 2013 - five years ago.

Traci Pruitt was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012. Doctors told her she needed to start treatment immediately. Her treatment included six rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. Pruitt was an only child, so her hope resided in the bone marrow registry. "You worry. You wonder if you're going to find anybody," she said.

A 47-year-old woman who was diagnosed with the potentially fatal blood cancer leukemia was introduced to the 30-year-old man who helped save her life on Saturday in Los Angeles. Traci Pruitt, of Ninety Six, South Carolina, was recipient and Tom Koerner, of Austin, Texas, was the donor.