(L-R) Kayla Tankard – Rutgers University, Jade Radice – Tulane University, Mitch Linefsky – Tulane University, Sloane Chestler – Tulane University, and Scott Houtkin – Tulane University

Since 2004, Gift of Life has partnered with Taglit Birthright Israel to offer participants a way to pay it forward by joining the registry in the hope of someday saving a life. Tour groups are visited by Gift of Life representatives who explain the organization’s mission and invite the young adults on the tour to join the registry. Today, Birthright has added over 100,000 donors to Gift of Life’s registry, resulting in 3,741 matches and 433 life-saving transplants. 

Founded in 1999 by philanthropists Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt, Birthright Israel offers young Jewish adults the opportunity for a free, 10-day educational trip to Israel. Since inception, the non-profit has changed the lives of over 800,000 Jewish young adults from 68 countries through its 10-day classic programs and mid-length internship programs, Onward and Excel. Today, it is the largest educational tourism organization in the world. 

Gift of Life thanks Taglit Birthright Israel for helping us grow the registry in such a significant way, and we also thank the many donors from their program who stepped up to save the lives of those battling blood cancer and inherited immune disorders when matches were found.