Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai is tested to see if he is a
possible donor for Alan Cohen
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NEW YORK (Press Release)–From Yeshivos to the IDF to the Knesset, from Haifa to Jerusalem to Beer Sheba, Ezer Mizion has undertaken a massive recruitment drive to save the life of its brother across the ocean.
Alan Cohen, a warm, friendly New Yorker who, up until recently led a placid life with his wife and two twin daughters, was suddenly diagnosed with leukemia with only weeks to live. A bone marrow transplant is his only chance of survival and to be successful, both donor and recipient must match genetically. “I can’t face life without him,” said his sister, Susan, at a recent fund raising event as she begged the guests to give generously.
Ezer Mizion, the largest Jewish registry and the 4th largest registry in the world, at this time does not have a genetic match for Alan. Due to the generosity of so many caring friends, funding is available for further genetic testing. Yeshiva students have extended their arms in a gesture of caring for a fellow Jew and thousands have been registered as potential donors. New IDF recruits have begun their army career with an act of compassion in the hope of being the one to save the life of a fellow Jew and on the December 7, the matter of most importance on the table of the Knesset was joining with Ezer Mizion to save Jewish lives.
In a truly unique show of solidarity, MK’s and their staff from the entire spectrum of Israel’s political arena turned up at the testing station set up especially for them in the Knesset building. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who had registered in a previous drive, stopped by to extend his wishes for the drive’s success. Eli Yishai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs, smiled as his blood flowed into the test tube to be typed by Ezer Mizion.
Massive media coverage has resulted in the plight of Alan Cohen being the talk of the day and over 13,000 converged upon Ezer Mizion’s 52 testing centers throughout Israel on December 8, in addition to the 10,000 who were tested from the start of the drive. As Alan is of Russian-Polish descent, material has been translated into Russian and Russian translators were available at each of the 52 stations to facilitate registration.
Further funding is urgently needed to enable Ezer Mizion to test each new registrant before it’s too late. Unfortunately, many more Jewish cancer patients around the globe are waiting in hope and prayer for the bone marrow transplant that will save their lives and an enlarged registry will enable so many more of our Jewish brethren to live.
For further information: Ezer Mizion, 1281 49 Street, Brooklyn, NY 11219, 718 853 8400
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Preceding provided by Ezer Mizion