The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation

Mission Statement: Gift of Life’s mission is to facilitate bone marrow, blood stem cell and umbilical cord blood transplants for children and adults suffering from life-threatening illnesses.

Gift of Life has teamed up with Hillel , a partner organization of KESHER , to recruit college students to participate as potential donors and raise awareness on campuses about the life-saving potential of bone marrow transplants.

Bone marrow transplants are used in the treatment of certain cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, as well as other malignancies and immune diseases. Expanding the registry of potential donors is essential to increase the likelihood of finding matches for patients in need. Bone marrow screening is much easier than in years past and only requires a cheek swab. The actual donation process has changed too - the stem cells found in bone marrow can now be collected through the peripheral blood.

The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry facilitates blood stem cell transplants for children and adults suffering from life-threatening illnesses. Since tissue type is inherited and thus ethnically determined, Gift of Life's mission is to increase the representation of Jewish volunteers registered as donors in order to overcome the devastating effects of the Holocaust, which severed bloodlines. There are currently over 80,000 men, women, young adults and children on the list for transplants. Last year over 6,000 people died due to the lack of organs, while 22,000 lives were saved as a result of organ transplants.

To learn more about Gift of Life, visit www.giftoflife.org
Or contact Jody Greenspon jgreenspon@giftoflife.org, or toll free: (800) 9MARROW ext. 28