The indomitable Jewish spirit takes many forms – from a hostage emerging after months of captivity to a Holocaust survivor telling her story countless times.
For Jay Feinberg, his unbreakable Jewish spirit would not accept defeat, even though doctors had advised that he make a “bucket list,” following a leukemia diagnosis at 23 years old. Instead, he and his mother led a grassroots movement sharing how stem cells, extracted from donated bone marrow, have the power to cure blood cancer.
Four years and 60,000 bone marrow donors later, Jay found his match. To pay it forward, he founded the Gift of Life Marrow Registry, which is proudly supported by the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. Upon entering the Gift of Life’s expansive Boca Raton-based facility, visitors take in a huge photo wall, capturing moments between donors and recipients meeting for the very first time.
“Every picture here represents a life saved, a family extended,” said Mindy Ginsberg, Gift of Life’s Associate Director of Development.
The Registry now boasts more than 500,000 donors and has integrated the first stem cell collection center to streamline and accelerate the donor process.
“When I was diagnosed, a Jewish person had just a 5 percent chance of finding a matching bone marrow donor. Today, we’ve dramatically increased those odds to more than 80 percent,” said Jay.
Within the facility, the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy is a highlight for any guest. The state-of-the-art laboratory, which sits behind floor-to-ceiling glass walls, is as fascinating as it is complex. Led by a team of scientists and researchers, the in-house lab develops groundbreaking off-the-shelf stem cell products that promise new treatments and the advance of ethical research. Traditionally, one donor’s cells matched one recipient; now, these innovations could allow a single donor to save multiple lives.
“The advances we witnessed at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy are nothing short of miraculous,” said Susan Rahn, chair of the Federation’s Safety Net Services Task Force. “The Federation is immensely proud to support such forward-thinking efforts that enhance the quality of healthcare globally.”
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