Faith Groups

The 1960's might suitably be called The Age of Wisdom at Yale University, whose renowned experimenters introduced theories on human behavior and relationships that are standard curriculum for University students today. Among the most celebrated theories is Stanley Milgram's "Six Degrees of Separation", the idea that we are all six handshakes away from every other person in the world and that our vast planet is really a palm-size globe where all people are connected by a complex networks of human relationships. It's a profound idea if one thinks about it—warring nations are really distant friends and despised enemies under different circumstances would be breaking bread.

More profound, however, is the idea that strangers from opposite ends of the world can be connected directly not through six but through just one degree of separation, and that the relationship is not made through a network of friendships but through the similar blood that runs through their veins. The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation is the one degree of separation that connects Jewish patients diagnosed with leukemia and other blood disorders with life-saving bone marrow and stem cell donors, serving as a resource for patient advocacy and family support.

The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation has been coordinating donor campaigns since 1995, and has facilitated nearly 1,000 patient transplants in the United States, Israel, and around the world. Because tissue type is inherited the best place to find a genetic match is from people of similar ethnic ancestry. Jay Feinberg, himself a transplant recipient, founded the Gift of Life with the mission to increase the representation of the Jewish people in the international marrow donor pool, thereby giving Jewish patients in need of a donor the best chance of finding one.

Gift of Life helps patients find donors under guidelines of strict confidentiality. In the United States a donor and recipient can only learn the identity of the other one-year post transplant and only if both parties agree. Since 2001 donors and recipients have had the opportunity to meet for the first time in front of family and friends at Gift of Life's Annual Gala Dinner held in New York City.

Every donor is heroic. Every transplant recipient is courageous. Every match that Gift of Life facilitates is a miracle, and each story is heartening. This year, however, at the Forth Annual Gala Dinner at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, Gift of Life has the distinct honor of introducing a very special donor-recipient pair. The story is so special because it has such far-reaching symbolism. The donor gave the incredible gift of life to a patient who was in critical need, but she also gave the gift of hope to a city and to a country that was mired in turmoil, lost in a sense of helplessness, and in critical need of something good and noble to believe in. In the midst of a darkness that all but devoured our spirits, this donor reinvigorated our souls. It was September 11, 2001.

As the donor sat in Cornell Medical Center's apheresis unit with IV lines from her arms just starting to draw and collect the stem cells that were to be transfused into her recipient, the first plane hit the World Trade Center. While the debris of terror eclipsed the Manhattan sun and fear cloaked the City's residents and commuters, Gift of Life's courageous donor was resolute. She was not leaving. As Cornell Hospital frantically orchestrated medical emergency protocol and mobilized staff to triage the endless ambulances with wounded they expected to arrive (sadly, none did), Gift of Life's donor stayed and completed the procedure and did her part that day to save the life she was able to save.

Gift of Life celebrates again at this years' gala the miracle matches that they have made, the courageous struggle of patients determined to survive, and the good-hearted donors who literally give of themselves. In an age of decreased personal and corporate responsibility it is a monument to the spirit of volunteerism, individual generosity and selflessness that organizations like Gift of Life can continue to operate. In a time of heightened security and suspicion of strangers, it is inspiring that Gift of Life can rise above that and link complete strangers who become blood relatives.

Gift of Life was the "one degree of separation" that brought together a leukemia patient and a heroic donor, but it also bridged a rift in the spirit of our nation; countering hatred with love, despair with hope, destruction with renewal, and death with life. This year Gift of Life is honored to introduce a transplant recipient to his life-saving hero: the September 11th donor.

For more information on the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation please visit www.giftoflife.org or call 1-800-9MARROW

Zev Steinberg is the Spokesperson and Community Affairs Coordinator for the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry.