In a deeply emotional meeting earlier this month, a Michigan man who was battling blood cancer not long ago finally learned the identity of the Atlanta man who saved his life with a bone marrow donation through the Gift of Life Marrow Registry. Bernard Weiner, 70, of Troy and Judah Berger, 22, of Atlanta, met for the first time at the Gift of Life Campus Ambassador Symposium at the Boca Raton Marriott.

Cancer is a random killer. It can strike any one of us at any time. A dedicated group of volunteers led by Gail Oliver of Newburgh, and Lorraine Wernow of Marlboro, are continuing to host a series of drives to register potential bone marrow and stem cell donors to benefit patients suffering from diseases like leukemia and lymphoma who are in need of transplants.

Bernard Weiner battled a blood cancer for 12 years but by then, the disease had progressed to the point that only one treatment option was left: He needed a bone marrow transplant to stay alive. He finally met his benefactor, Judah Berger, 22, of New York last week.

More than 700 miles away from Atlanta in Troy, Michigan, 70-year-old Bernard Weiner was running out of options in his battle with blood cancer. Fortunately, his perfect stem cell transplant match, Judah Berger, was already in the registry. The two met for the first time at Gift of Life Marrow Registry's Campus Ambassador Symposium.

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.