Matnas Chaim Magazine

ISSUE 1 • MARCH 2017

A cotton swab that

CURES CANCER?

MATNAS CHAIM

Matnas Chaim’s Global Movement is saving the lives of thousands of yidden with BLOOD CANCER around the world

Meet The Heroic Donors They never knew they had the power to save lives, but here are their incredible stories

www.MatnasChaim.org

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

1

INTRODUCTION

Giving Life takes little 2

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

877.321.6547

At Matnas Chaim, we do exactly what our name says: give people the gift of life.

We believe every person battling blood cancer can be saved. But when they’ve tried everything and are standing at death’s door, it’s up to you to keep their hope alive.

Today, people suffering from blood cancers can find a cure through the miracle of a bone marrow and stem cell transplant. Only you can help patients find compatible matches by working to build the donor registry.

Every life is sacred, and our shared goal is to give everyone the gift of life by assisting our brothers and sisters in their hour of desperate need.

The more volunteers who join the registry,

the more lives will be saved.

You can help us grow the registry by participating in a donor recruitment drive and by encouraging your community to do the same. All it takes to join is a quick, simple cheek swab! We truly hope you will come and share our passion for curing blood cancer and saving lives. Patients with these debilitating diseases are searching the registry right now in the desperate hope of finding a matching donor. All it takes is one kind stranger with the right tissue type to cure their cancer and give them the incredible gift of life.

You May Be That Match!

Participate in a life-changing donor registration drive, and let’s be on our way to finding a match and a cure.

www.MatnasChaim.org

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

3

LET'S END CANCER What is Blood Cancer?

Blood cancer is an umbrella term for cancers that affect the blood, bone marrow and lymphatic system. In most blood cancers, normal blood cell development is interrupted by uncontrolled growth of abnormal blood cells. The abnormal blood cells can prevent blood from fighting off infection or preventing uncontrolled bleeding.

Unfortunately, blood cancer can strike any one of us at any time. Approximately every four minutes, a child or adult in the United States is diagnosed with a type of blood cancer. That’s 360 people a day, 130,000 people a year.

Common types of blood cancer include: Leukemia, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Hodgkin Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma.

Today, through a bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplant, many people suffering from these afflictions are finding a cure. Their hope is only possible thanks to the related and unrelated volunteers who charitably donate their healthy stem cells.

With a 2-minute cheek swab,

You will save your brother or sister from the deadly reality of blood cancer.

ABOUT MATNAS CHAIM

Our story began as you might imagine:

With a Gift Matnas Chaim is an international public bone marrow and blood stem cell registry. Together with the help of generous heroes like you, we facilitate transplants for children and adults suffering from life-threatening diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma.

Matnas Chaim is the only bone marrow registry founded and headed by a transplant recipient and leukemia survivor.

Jay Feinberg was diagnosed with leukemia in his early 20s. He had no idea that his personal journey would inspire a global movement to help Jewish patients have an equal chance at finding their life saving matches. But life has a way of leading us in unexpected directions, especially when people come together.

Doctors told Jay that a bone marrow transplant would save his life, but that he simply could not get one. They knew the best chance of finding a genetic match lies with those of similar ethnic background. But Jay was Jewish, and with no Jewish volunteers of his descent in the registry at that time, they advised him to start planning his bucket list before his time expired, and to do what he could to enjoy his final days on earth.

Yet Jay’s family and friends believed his match was out there, and were determined to find it. and time was of the essence. They launched an ambitious grassroots campaign to find his donor, hosting hundreds of drives, enrolling tens of thousands of new Jewish volunteers in the worldwide registry, and finding matches for dozens of cancer patients. Still, four years later, Jay’s match had not been found.

6

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

877.321.6547

As time was running out, a young man, whose best friend had found a lifesaving donor through a drive for Jay, decided to run one last drive at a yeshiva in Milwaukee.

Bracha, the last donor tested that day, turned out to be his perfect match.

Jay received his transplant – and the gift of life – a short time later.

Feeling that no one should have to struggle as he did to find a donor, Jay dedicated his life to tipping the odds. Along with your generous support, Matnas Chaim, his now-global foundation, strives to match transplant candidates with compatible donors whenever they’re in need of assistance.

Under Jay’s leadership, Matnas Chaim has made more than 13,000 matches between donors and recipients, resulting in 3,000+ transplants. Today, the registry has over 260,000 volunteer donors and has improved the chances of a Jewish patient finding a match from 5% to over 75%. Are you ready to stand up and make a change?

Join Jay today!

Few people embody the words of the Gemara better than Jay Feinberg,

‫" וכל המקיים נפש אחת‬ ‫מישראל מעלה עליו הכתוב‬ " ‫כאילו קיים עולם מלא‬

www.MatnasChaim.org

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

7

Join Matnas Chaim.

GET SWABBED. Take a step towards saving a life.

Matnas Chaim is working hard to grow the representation of Jewish people in its registry for the benefit of patients living domestically, in Israel, and throughout the diaspora. Sadly, numerous cancer patients of Jewish heritage are awaiting transplants.

This very minute, a 6-year-old boy in the prime of his childhood is suffering and fighting to hold onto life. His father desperately struggles to keep hope alive, raising his wife and children’s spirits as they impatiently wait for a selfless stranger to join the volunteer registry. You could be their cure! You could save this little angel from certain death.

As our brothers and sisters look to us for help and hope, you can answer their prayers by becoming a donor. You may end up helping your neighbor, or saving the life of a complete stranger. But if we know one thing, it’s that the wonderful gift of life is meant to be shared.

8

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

877.321.6547

JOIN TODAY. SAve a life tomorrow.

1. SEEK

Sign up at matnaschaim.org/register or call 800.962.7769. We’ll mail you a swab kit with easy instructions so you can register in the comfort of your home. You can also visit any donor drive location. To find one near you, visit matnaschaim.org/events.

2. SWAB

Simply follow the instructions included in your swab kit and mail it back to us as directed. You can also visit any donor drive location and get swabbed in a matter of seconds. To find one near you, visit matnaschaim.org/events.

Our lab tests your tissue type and adds you to the donor registry. Once we locate someone in need of a transplant who matches your genetic profile, we inform you of the situation and offer you the opportunity to make the donation and save a life.

3. SAVE

Choose to give life

It's the hardest thing to get, the easiest gift to give. www.MatnasChaim.org

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

9

a wor from the wi w 10

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

877.321.6547

rd wise

Read these inspiring Interviews with real Matnas Chaim donors

www.MatnasChaim.org

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

11

DONOR INTERVIEWS

NAME:

Avrohom slomowitz

ETHNICITY:

ashkenazi 34

AGE:

12

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

877.321.6547

After not being a match for the person he originally swabbed for, Avrohom was delighted to learn years later that he was a match for someone else! He went on to save the life of a fellow Jew halfway around the world.

MC: Where and when did MC: When did you you join the donor registry? donate and how was the procedure?

AS: A few years ago, I participated in a drive for a member of my local community. It was held at Rabbi Landau’s Synagogue, very close to where I live and grew up in Brooklyn. I wasn’t a match that day and thought that was it.

Then earlier this year I got a call informing me that not only am I on the donor registry, I am a match!

MC: For whom were you a match?

AS: I was asked to help save the life of a 67-year-old woman suffering from acute leukemia.

MC: How did you feel about making the decision to donate? Especially considering that you forgot about joining the donor registry.

AS: I was mostly nervous, but knew it was the right thing to do. I would want someone to do this for me or for someone I care about. I really hope that one day I am able to meet the healthy recipient.

MC: What would you tell your friends and neighbors about Matnas Chaim?

AS: I donated my stem cells this past May. This is actually the non-surgical of the two types of donating procedures. I had to get Filgrastim injections for five days leading up to the donation day [Filgrastim is a medication that increases the number of stem cells in the bloodstream.] Then on donation day, it was as simple as giving blood. A needle went into one of my arms to draw blood out, which then went through a machine to separate and collect the blood-forming stem cells the recipient needed. The remaining blood was then returned to me through my other arm. My stem cells returned to normal levels on their own after a few days.

AS: Nothing compares to the feelings of pride and joy you get from giving the gift of life. I highly recommend that everyone get in touch with Matnas Chaim and join the donor registry.

MC: Are there any lasting effects?

AS: Physically, I am perfectly fine. I went to work the next day. However, the amazing feeling that comes with helping save someone’s life will stay with me forever.

"Nothing compares to the feelings of pride and joy you get from giving the gift of life." www.MatnasChaim.org

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

13

DONOR INTERVIEWS

Yitzchak has singlehandedly saved multiple lives. As a repeat Matnas Chaim donor, answering the call for any possible opportunity to save the life of a fellow Jew. He believes life is a gift, and is intent on sharing it.

MC: Where and when did you join the donor registry?

YK: I joined the registry back in February 2007. It was at a drive in Lakewood, New Jersey. Chai Lifeline and Hatzolah hosted a drive at Lakewood Yeshiva.

MC: When did you find out you were a match?

YK: Well, the first one took just over two years. I donated my stem cells, which involved a simple procedure similar to donating blood. But with a stem cells donation, I actually got my blood back after it ran through a machine that removed the lifesaving cells that they needed. It reminded me of the candle analogy, where one candles can ignite thousands of other candles without its own flame diminishing at all.

MC: You say the first time.

Does that mean you have had multiple matches?

YK: Yes, a total of three, actually.

After donating PBSC in March of 2009, I was called back to provide a donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) in June. I then did

14

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

877.321.6547

another DLI in May of 2010.

MC: What inspired you to keep coming back?

YK: It is such a simple way to make such a huge difference. Nothing compares to the incredible feeling of giving someone a chance to live. The donation procedure is nothing serious; it doesn’t harm me in any way, and it truly saves saving another person’s life.

MC: What would you tell your friends and neighbors about Matnas Chaim?

YK: Matnas Chaim does amazing work and is really making a difference in this world. I encourage everyone to at least take a few minutes to submit a swab and join the registry. You don’t have to commit to anything up front, and you may get lucky and get an opportunity to be a real hero.

"It is such a simple way to make such a huge difference."

NAME:

Yitzchak Kowalsky ETHNICITY:

ashkenazi 34

AGE:

www.MatnasChaim.org

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

15

DONOR INTERVIEWS

NAME:

Jacob Drebin

ETHNICITY:

ashkenazi 21

AGE:

16

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

877.321.6547

As a proud resident of Brooklyn, Jacob has always been eager to do good things for his community. When he heard about Matnas Chaim and its lifesaving mission, he jumped at the opportunity. When told he was too young to donate, he waited anxiously until he turned 18 years old.

MC: When did you decide to join the donor registry?

MC: How did it feel making the donation?

JD: I’ve always been committed to giving back to my community.

I wanted to join the registry ever since I found out about it, and went to get swabbed just two weeks after my 18th birthday.

JD: Well, physically it was an easy thing. The procedure did take a little time, but wasn’t painful and left no lasting mark.

Emotionally, though, the feeling was indescribable: I, still in my teens, was able to save a woman’s life! The outpour of gratitude from the woman and her family has been overwhelming. Children now get to grow up with their grandma in their life because of me. It is such an incredible feeling, and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to give life.

MC: Where are you from, and did you have to travel far to be swabbed?

JD: I am a proud Brooklyn native, and am now a yeshiva student in Lakewood, New Jersey. Rabbi Stein’s Yeshiva held a local drive, and it was super quick and completely painless.

MC: When did you find out you were a match?

JD: It actually happened really fast for me. Just two months after being swabbed, I got a call to donate mystem cells at Weill Cornell Medical Center for a 68- year-old woman suffering from acute leukemia.

JD: Matnas Chaim is an amazing organization that is helping save lives every day. If you are not yet part of the registry, do yourself and the world a favor and get swabbed today!

MC: Are there any lasting effects?

JD: Physically, I am perfectly fine. I went to work the next day. However, the amazing feeling that comes with helping save someone’s life will stay with me forever.

MC: What would you tell your friends and neighbors about Matnas Chaim?

"Children now get to grow up with their grandma in their life because of me"

www.MatnasChaim.org

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

17

DONOR INTERVIEWS

Shlomo was on the registry for so long that he’d forgotten he was even on it. But when the opportunity to save a life presented itself, he did not forget his power to make the ultimate difference for an individual and their family.

MC: Where and when did MC: For whom were you join the donor registry? you a match?

SG: I joined back when I was away at school in June of 2010.

There was a donor registry drive on my campus at Yeshiva Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland.

MC: Did you wait long before they found your match?

SG: It took about five-and-a-half years. Honestly, I sort of forgot I had even joined the registry, since I was at such a different stage in my life when I received the call.

SG: I was asked if I wanted to help save the life of a 35-yearold woman who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Of course I wanted to!

MC: What type of donation did you make and how was the procedure?

SG: On one of the last days of December 2015, I donated my stem cells. I had to go to several simple doctor visits in the weeks leading up to the day of donation to ensure I really was a perfect match and to get special injections.

When the big day finally arrived, the procedure was surprisingly simple. It was like taking a blood test. I had an IV in each arm, one taking blood out, which then went through a machine to remove the lifesaving cells, and then my blood was funneled right back into my other arm.

MC: Was there any recovery time or lasting effects?

SG: The recovery time was zip; I could have gone back into work the same day. There are no noticeable physical effects, but the emotional and mental impact

18

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

877.321.6547

the whole experience left on me is quite tremendous. It’s a big idea to grasp, and I still have trouble believing that, without me, this woman would no longer be on this earth. All the great things she does with the rest of her life and all the people she impacts are now connected to me, a 22-year-old student who took a few minutes to join the registry all those years ago.

MC:What would you tell your friends and neighbors about Matnas Chaim?

SG: Take those few minutes to at least join the donor registry. Matnas Chaim is doing amazing work saving lives, and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to help them. There is absolutely no upfront commitment from you upon joining the registry.

If and when they call you with a match, you decide if you are ready to donate. At least take the step to leave yourself open to the opportunity to save a life.

"It’s a big idea to grasp... without me, this woman would no longer be on this earth."

NAME:

Shlomo Geizhals

ETHNICITY:

ashkenazi 27

AGE:

www.MatnasChaim.org

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

19

DONOR INTERVIEWS

NAME:

Naftali Schmeltzer

ETHNICITY:

ashkenazi 30

AGE:

20

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

877.321.6547

Naftali isn’t a newcomer to the idea of giving of himself to others. But he considers Matnas Chaim his most heroic act. Now his own life has been improved by what he has done for another’s.

MC: What inspired you to join the donor registry?

MC: For whom were you a match?

NS: As a father of six beautiful kids ranging in age from 19 months to 10 years old, I do all I can to make the world a better place for them and everyone else in it: I drive a van for the Refuah Medical Clinic in Monsey, and support Chessed 24/7 of New Square. Joining the Matnas Chaim donor registry was another simple way to improve the world and help my Jewish brethren.

NS: Oh wow, was that a surprise for me. I had expected an elderly community member, but I turned out to be a match for a sweet 2-year-old girl with pancytopenia.

It was very moving for me to help such a young child, especially since I have kids around her age.

It felt great to be able to thank God for my children’s health by assisting a less fortunate family.

MC: How did it feel to be called in to make your donation?

NS: I was really excited to have the opportunity to be part of saving someone’s life. Naturally, I was also nervous, but more happy and honored than anything.

My loving wife was by my side throughout the process, encouraging me to go through with what had become a personal mission of mine.

MC: What type of donation did you make and how was the procedure?

NS: I gave the little girl my peripheral blood stem cells. The procedure was nonsurgical and pretty simple; they just collected the stem cells from my blood. In order to increase the amount of needed cells in my bloodstream, I had to get injections for the 5 days leading up to the day of donation.

Those visits were really quick—just a couple minutes each. On the day of donation, I was at the facility for a good part of the day, but the procedure was completely painless. It reminded me of donating blood, which I do often.

MC: How long did it take you for you to recover?

Do you experience any lasting effects?

NS: Recover? There was nothing really to recover from, except being a little tired from spending several hours at the facility. But physically I felt no different after the procedure. There is, however, a lasting effect: I’ve been walking around with this indelible sense of pride that comes with saving a life. All the wonderful things that little girl will go to do with her life are now part of my life.

MC: What would you tell your friends and neighbors about Matnas Chaim?

NS: Matnas Chaim is an amazing organization that is saving lives and keeping families together.

Joining their registry is so simple, and requires no commitment.

There is no reason you shouldn’t at least enter your DNA into the donor registry. And who knows, one day you may be blessed with a call that you are a match and can save a life for real.

www.MatnasChaim.org

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

21

FACTS OF LIFE Statistics about beating illness

20%

donate bone marrow (primarily for children)

80%

One in every 200 people will need a stem cell transplant during their lifetime

of volunteers donate peripheral blood stem cells

Joining the registry involves a simple cheek swab

Tissue type is inherited, like eye or hair color. The best chance of finding a genetic match lies with those of similar race and ethnicity

22

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

877.321.6547

Matnas Chaim is a national, public, not-for-profit registry facilitating transplants for patients in the United States and abroad

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry is accredited by the World Marrow Donor Association.

Every 4 minutes a patient is diagnosed with blood cancer

Each year 20,000 Americans need a lifesaving bone marrow or PBSC transplant

MATNAS CHAIM IN NUMBERS

Help us, and these numbers will improve daily

260,154 REGISTERED DONORS

MATCH!

@ MATNAS CHAIM

13,504

countries served

SUCCESSFUL MATCHES MADE

89,237 patient searches

117 hospitals & cancer centers

donor recruitment drives

9,916

22,650

8

collection facilities

transplants facilitated

3,063

New donors registered in 2016

AT A GLANCE

Drive for Life When 2,414 Swabs Equaled 16 New Leases On Life and Counting

24

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

877.321.6547

Thousands of people knocked on the door of the Hatzolah Garage in Williamsburg that day. Minutes after the start of the drive, a line snaked past the door of the designated room and out the building. Within an hour, the file of black hats wound around the street corner.

Inside the Hatzolah garage, pens were scratching against registration cards, swab kits were handed out in rhythmic fashion, and of course, cheeks were swabbed over and over again. The energy and sense of purpose could almost be touched as people filed in and out of the room with purposeful steps.

2,414 men put their routine on hold and braved the cold and long line that day. Alan Cohen’s life was on the line, and time was running out to find a match to save it. What was some time and chilling winds compared to a Yid’s future years hanging in the balance?

Alan z”l is no longer among us. His life was sadly snuffed out before a match could be found. But the ripples of the massive drive in Williamsburg are still making an impact, and Alan’s legacy lives on. Since the drive, 113 matches have been found in the pool of matchers originally created for Alan’s sake. In less than a year 16 lives have been saved by successful transplants.

16 Yidden are breathing, laughing and loving today, and it all started with a painless, effortless cheek swab. 16 families were spared a lifetime of heartache and pain, all because of a line of black hats snaking around the corner of Penn Street in Williamsburg, NY. For caring Yidden, it was a few minutes dedicated out of concern and commitment for a fellow Yid on a cold winter night. For 16 survivors, it was the gift of life.

www.MatnasChaim.org

Matnas Chaim Marrow Registry

25

the cure for cancer is you.

Visit matnaschaim/drives to learn more about our upcoming donor drives.

Your brothers and sisters need you.

Start now to end cancer!

speed swab ur ki o y t

jo

i n th e r e g i

ry

An

d

y da to

Or de r

With a 2 minute cheek swab you can be give a jew in need the gift of life.

st

Matnas Chaim Headquarters 3611 14th Avenue #401 Brooklyn NY 11218 Matnaschaim.org 800.962.7769