“A”, a 21-year-old soldier from the Golani Brigade’s elite reconnaissance unit was pulled from active service in Gaza to donate bone marrow to a sick girl a saliva sample he’d given to the Hadassah Bone Marrow Registry was found to be a match.
“On the day they enlist in the IDF, soldiers are given the opportunity to provide a saliva sample, which is then entered into the Eli Elkouby Bone Marrow Donor Registry at Hadassah,” says Eden Dahan, the bone marrow donation coordinator at Hadassah Ein Kerem. “When a match is found between a patient suffering from an immune-system disease and a donor in the registry, we contact the donor.
“A few months ago, a medical center approached the donor registry requesting a bone marrow donation for a 5-year-old girl suffering from leukemia, and “A” was found to be a perfect genetic match for her.”
It took time for the patient to be ready to receive the transplant from “A” and when the call finally came for him to make the donation, he and his unit were in the middle of an operation somewhere in Gaza. “The coordinators know how to find anyone anywhere”, the soldier recalls. “They found me through my commander, because we were really in the field. They informed me that it was time to perform the procedure at the hospital. Hadassah also contacted the battalion commander, who approved pulling me out for such an important act, and I went to Hadassah.”
The bone marrow that “A” donated was extracted at Hadassah in a simple procedure that does not endanger the donor. “Bone marrow donation is a safe procedure,” notes Prof. Reuven Or, a hematologist and the medical director of the Hadassah Volunteer Bone Marrow Donor Registry. “In the first meeting with the donor, it is important for me to describe the process they will go through from start to finish, and the importance of bone marrow donation, especially for a young girl who needs it to live.”
Ofra Elkouby, director and founder of the Hadassah Bone Marrow Donor Registry named for her late husband, says that during the war, a large number of soldiers were identified by the registry and were summoned to donate bone marrow. “IDF soldiers join the registry with good will to save lives,” she says. “We have also forged close ties with individual volunteers and organizations like ‘United Hatzalah,’ which help us collect blood from donors, and ‘Friends on the Road,’ which has transported dozens of bone-marrow donor kits for us, from north to south, even during the war.”
“A” is now recovering and generally feels good. He is proud of the privilege he was given. “Wow, I am so pleased. Knowing that I saved a life resonates, I’ve had a smile on my face that hasn’t faded for days,” he says enthusiastically.
“The team that accompanied me at Hadassah was amazing and provided information throughout the process, always answered questions, and did everything in good spirits. I felt great there, in good hands. And, if I was concerned that I would be limited and unable to rejoin my unit quickly, then definitely not! I feel completely fine – just a slightly annoying feeling in my back, but that’s nothing compared to how I feel about the donation itself.
“All I know right now is that I donated to a 5-year-old girl suffering from a severe disease involving the bone marrow. I just hope the transplant succeeds and that she feels good, that’s the most important thing to me.”
In the photos, “A” at Hadassah Hospital and with Prof. Reuven Or, medical director of the Hadassah Volunteer Bone Marrow Donor Registry.
Credit to Hadassah spokesperson.
Article taken from https://www.hadassah.org/