A national campaign to find compatible bone marrow for 20-year-old Ro’i Cohen has been launched by the Ezer Mizion bone-marrow donor registry.
Two weeks before enlisting in the Israel Defense Forces, Cohen was diagnosed with severe blood cancer that required an urgent bone-marrow transplant from a donor.
After all the tests, however, it turned out that no suitable donor was found for him with a complete match. The non-profit Ezer Mizion organization swung into action, setting up various points around the country to find a compatible donor.
Cohen is a member of the IDF’s Academic Reserve, a program that enables high school graduates to defer the draft and attend university prior to their military service. After completing their studies, they join the army and serve in a position that fits the professional knowledge they gained during their studies.
The call for saliva testing is targeted at anyone aged 18 to 45 years old whose ethnic roots are from Syria, Poland, Turkey or Bulgaria. “We must find a donor for our Ro’i as soon as possible. Being tested is a simple and easy process – and for us, it’s a whole world,” Ro’i’s father Lior said in a heartfelt plea.
“Our son was supposed to enlist about a month and a half ago,” he said. “About a week before recruitment, he performed a blood test due to weakness, and serious disease in the field of hemato-oncology was discovered. Suddenly the word ‘challenge’ took on an additional and much more significant dimension.”
"About a week before recruitment, he performed a blood test due to weakness, and serious disease in the field of hemato-oncology was discovered. Suddenly the word ‘challenge’ took on an additional and much more significant dimension.”
Ro’i’s father Lior
Ro’i must undergo a bone-marrow transplant as soon as possible if a match is found. The simple and easy donation process is performed by connecting one’s bloodstream to a machine for four hours, not minor surgery to remove bone marrow from the hip that used to be necessary years ago.
Dr. Bracha Zisser, director of Ezer Mizion’s national database for bone-marrow donors, said that “no suitable donor was found for Ro’i, so we had to launch this campaign. A suitable donor doesn’t have to be hospitalized. For Ro’i, this is the greatest gift – of his life.”
A saliva sample can be given during the next few days at:
Tel Aviv - Ezer Mizion branch at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), 6 Sderot Weizmann in the main lobby, 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m., contact person: Menahem Derech 052-259-3300.
Jerusalem - Ezer Mizion branch Jerusalem, 11 Rehov Beit Hadfus, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., contact person: Israel Yeret, 054-333-3438.
Beersheba - Kedma Hall, 3 Rehov Abuhatzira, noon-10 p.m., contact Naftali Kuber, 054-667-7245.
Haifa - Ezer Mizion branch, 92 Rehov Herzl, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., contact person: Moshe Be’eri, 050-641-2650.
Petah Tikva – Ezer Mizion Beit Oranit, 40 Rehov Kaplan Tikva, Sunday-Thursday 9 a.m.-3 p.m.