Joining worlds, saving lives
Significant rise recorded in past year in Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Registry, with more than 40,000 new donors and 124 life-saving transplants
Gila Kobo finally got to meet the woman who saved her life: Simmy Ventura. Simmy's stem cell donation gave Gila a new lease on life.
"I gave a blood sample in one of the malls some time ago. Afterwards, I forgot all about it," Ventura related. "Then, in January 2009, I got a call from Ezer Mizion telling me that I was found to be a good match to save someone's life. After a few additional tests, they confirmed that I was a perfect donor. I then underwent a simple procedure, that didn't cause me any pain, maybe just a bit of discomfort, and I donated my stem cells. The amazing feeling of saving a life definitely overshadowed any temporary discomfort and inconvenience that I experienced."
A year and a half after the successful transplant, Ventura got to meet the woman to whom she granted her the gift of life.
"There were other people in the room, so it wasn't so intimate, but we were both very emotional. It was an amazing feeling to know that the person across from me is alive thanks to what I did. I'm sure we'll maintain contact with each other in the future. Gila told me that ever since the transplant, I'm like her daughter."
During the past year, Ventura gave birth to a baby boy. "I feel that we also were given the gift of life."
Gila and Simmy. A new lease on life (Photo: Ezer Mizion)
Dr. Bracha Zisser, director of Ezer Mizion’s Bone Marrow Registry, says that every meeting like this gives her a tremendous feeling of satisfaction and the energy to keep going.
"About 12 years ago, when we first thought of the idea of establishing Ezer Mizion's Bone Marrow Registry, we had one goal before us – to make sure there was a match available for every cancer patient in need of a bone marrow transplant. Until then, many patients died while waiting for a matching donor to be found for them in the international bone marrow registries. That is because the Jewish people are an ethnic minority which is not well represented in these registries.
“We did not dare think about large numbers. We never imagined long lines of hundreds of good-hearted people standing quietly and patiently on line in shopping malls for the sole purpose of joining the bone marrow registry. We would not have believed that the day would come when every soldier drafted to the IDF would have a chance to automatically join the registry as part of his induction process. We did not anticipate the hundreds of search requests that would come from registries across the globe. Most importantly, we did not dare to dream that we would really merit saving so many lives.
"But with time, we did. We have been privileged to facilitate 710 life-saving transplants. But it wasn't just 'merit' – it was a lot of hard work, day after day, to raise awareness of the importance and the ease of joining a registry, to rally more people to join and to fund this vital project."
Wide variety of activities
As we come to the close of the year 5770 and sum up the numbers of complete matches and transplants in the Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Registry, a significant rise is seen in the Bone Marrow Registry's activity.During the past year, over 40,000 donors joined the Registry, and 124 life-saving transplants were performed. Altogether, since the Registry's inception, 710 life-saving transplants took place. In the month of August alone, 24 transplants were performed, from donors in the Ezer Mizion Registry. 24 people whose lives were saved – children, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters – each one an entire world for his family.
Ezer Mizion's Bone Marrow Registry today includes more than 540,000 samples. It is the third largest registry in the world – a remarkable statistic considering the relatively small size of our country. Part of the significant rise in the numbers of the registry can be attributed to the increase in sample donations from among the IDF recruits.
Ezer Mizion is at the height of its New Year campaign, with the slogan: "Ezer Mizion – joining worlds, saving lives." The campaign presents Ezer Mizion's philosophy – giving help to every person, regardless of religion, race or gender. This includes support for cancer patients and their families, the Bone Marrow Registry, free ambulance transport service for for people in wheelchairs, loan of medical equipment, assistance for children with special needs, and more.
The campaign summarizes the wide variety of activities Ezer Mizion carries on throughout the year – a broad range of projects that include more than 650,000 hot meals provided to families of the ill, about 63,579 transports of the ill and elderly in Ezer Mizion ambulances and volunteer vehicles, 5,100 overnight stays in the Oranit hotel for children with cancer and their families, and over 710 life saving bone marrow transplants performed throughout the years of the Ezer Mizion National Registry's existence.
Now it's your chance to send your Kapparot money and donate your part to Ezer Mizion and help us continue saving lives. Donate via our website: http://www.ezermizion.org/donate
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