Help us find matches for two of our youngest patients
Apr 05, 2011 by Gift of Life
News
One-year-old Ayelet and two-year-old Ezra are currently searching for their miracle matches. Both families have been working with Gift of Life to run drives and fund new donor test kits from the waitlist.
The families have each set up a donor circle page for their children. Gift of Life launched the donor circle program in 2009 to help sponsor new donors into the worldwide bone marrow registry. Donations made through a donor circle are used for processing new test kits, so each $54 sends one kit to the lab for testing.
Ezra’s page features the bright-eyed two-year-old with his parents. Ezra has Hyper IgM Syndrome and needs a bone marrow transplant. His page asks that people consider the $54 cost of each test kit during their registration. So far, the family has sponsored over 1,300 new donors.
Ayelet’s page features pictures of the smiling one-year-old and a note from her parents regarding the cheek swabs that have been collected and are awaiting funding. It reads, “Amongst these might already be a match for Ayelet or others. Donations small and large can make a real difference.” More than $182,000 has been raised to help sponsor new donors.
Gift of Life maintains a waitlist of medically screened donors whose test kits cannot be processed due to lack of funding. It costs $54 to process each test kit. Gift of Life will not turn a potential bone marrow donor away if he or she wants to join the registry, but cannot afford the cost of the kit, which is often the case when drives are conducted on college campuses. Since Gift of Life began running drives on college campuses, thousands of students have joined the registry. Students are often the best candidates to be on the registry because they are generally in the best health due to their age and also have the opportunity to remain in the registry for many years, thus increasing the odds they will be called to donate.
Ezra and Ayelet’s Donor Circles are helping to give the gift of life to patients who are actively searching for their perfect bone marrow matches. Please visit their donor circle pages for more information or to make a donation in any amount. Every dollar counts to the cause of finding a match for anyone in need of a bone marrow transplant anytime.
