BOCA RATON, Florida (Press Release)–A mother will do just about anything to protect her child. Nothing could illustrate that more than the story of Arlene Feinberg, a mother who led the charge to find a bone marrow donor for her son Jay, who had been diagnosed with leukemia. She was a pioneer recruiting volunteer donors at a time when the worldwide bone marrow registry was in its infancy, finding matches for countless patients in similar circumstances as her son. Seventy percent of patients do not have a family member who is a match; they must search the registry to find that one stranger who can save their lives.
Ultimately Arlene Feinberg found that “miracle match” for Jay, and he had a successful bone marrow transplant. Her trailblazing efforts led to the establishment of a grass roots organization called Gift of Life, one of 73 registries in 52 countries. Under her son’s leadership as CEO, the registry has grown to become the fourteenth largest worldwide. In 2013 alone, Gift of Life organized nearly 900 donor drives and tested over 25,000 donors.
Arlene Feinberg passed away earlier this year after a valiant battle with cancer herself, but her memory will live on through the good work of Gift of Life, and in the hearts of all those who the organization has helped to save. As a tribute to her memory, Gift of Life will host a worldwide digital event on Sunday, June 22 at 7pm EST. This “Virtual” Gala will feature a first-time look at the inside operations of the donor registry, a donor-recipient meeting, and the launch of an unprecedented $4 million campaign to test 70,000 new bone marrow donors called “Arlene’s Vision”.
Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives and facilitating bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood-related diseases. Ranking among the top international bone marrow registries in the world, Gift of Life’s mission is to find a match Anytime. Anywhere. For anyone.
Gift of Life currently maintains a growing registry of over 230,000 volunteer donors and has facilitated more than 2,700 transplants for patients in need. For more information on Gift of Life, call 1-800-962-7769, or visit www.giftoflife.org
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Preceding provided by Gift of LIfe