Compatible bone marrow donors sought to save lives

Compatible bone marrow d

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
ezer mizion 88 (photo credit: )
ezer mizion 88
(photo credit: )
Ezer Mizion, the national bone marrow bank, will hold a countrywide campaign to find a suitable donor for Eli (Ilya) Tobavin, a 33-year-old man with leukemia. The man, who came on aliya from Moscow in 1992 with his wife, works at Microsoft and is the father of six-year-old Natalie. Compatible bone marrow is also sought for Alan Cohen, a New York Jew suffering from cancer who is married and has 12-year-old twins. He has been unable to find suitable bone marrow in data banks in the US, and there is also none at the Ezer Mizion bone marrow bank. The campaign will be held on Tuesday, December 8 at dozens of spots around the country. As it costs NIS 180 to test each sample for compatibility and store the data, the non-profit organization is asking for donations. One can donate and receive more information about stations where a small blood sample will be taken by calling 1-800-236-236. One can also go into the Web site at www.ami.org.il. Bone marrow bank director Dr. Bracha Zisser said Thursday that even if you are not found to be compatible this time, your tissue type will be stored in the data bank for future use. Removal of bone marrow is a minimal, harmless procedure, but it can save a life.