Israeli Air Force Navigator Donates Bone Marrow to Stricken Toddler
Charity News Online
A Reserve F-16 navigator with the Israeli Air Force has donated a bone marrow to a two year old child living abroad who contracted a violent form of cancer, ISRAEL21c reports. During the beginning days of the current war against Hizbollah, the serviceman whose name is not disclosed was busy with operational sorties when he was called away for a day to fight a more personal battle - for the life of the child. The 32-year-old was found to be a match for a bone marrow transplant desperately needed by the baby. Receiving permission to leave his unit, he rushed to the Schneider Medical Center in Petah Tikva and made a bone marrow donation for her.
A few years ago the man gave a blood sample as part of a special campaign for locating bone marrow donors in the IDF, sponsored by Ezer Mizion, which runs Israel's national bone marrow donor registry. Last year, after Ezer Mizion and the IDF signed the agreement that enabled all new recruits to join the Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Donor Registry as an integral part of the army induction process, Brigadier General Elazar Stern, director of the IDF's Human Resources Department, noted that "In addition to defending Israel's borders, the army, together with Ezer Mizion, can now save lives in another way. "
40,000 IDF recruits join the Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Donor Registry each year, the exact type of donor the registry is looking for, ISRAEL21c has reported. "We are talking about an ideal type of potential bone marrow donor," says Dr. Bracha Zisser, director of the Ezer Mizion registry. "IDF recruits are generally young and healthy, and are able to remain in the registry for decades."
Earlier this year the young man received a call from the organization's chief transplant coordinator who told him that he is the only person in the world that matched a baby with leukemia, whose life is in danger. Over the following weeks, he underwent a series of tests that confirmed that his genetic profile matches that of the sick baby. A date was scheduled for the marrow donation, however, one week prior to the date, as the war in the north began, the navigator was called to his platoon and he took an active part in a number of offensive sorties in Lebanese skies.
When Ezer Mizion called him to confirm his planned arrival as they had previously arranged, the navigator told them that he would be there. "It was clear to me and my commanders that no matter what would happen on the same day - this takes precedence over everything else," the serviceman said. He took a one day break from army duty and reported to the operating room of Schneider, where, under full anesthesia, a liter of bone marrow was extracted from his hip bone, containing the priceless stem cells required to save the life of the sick child.
The stem cell donation was flown abroad that night, where the family was anxiously waiting. The donated stem cells were transfused in the child's blood, with the hope that it will be accepted and will begin generating new and cancer free blood cells in her body. Over the next three weeks, she will be kept in isolation at the medical center abroad where she is being treated. Only then will her doctors be able to determine whether her system has accepted the bone marrow. Dr. Itzhak Yaniv, Head of Pediatric Oncology at Schneider, believes that her chances of recovery are good.
"I am happy that I can give her this gift and I pray for her recovery," the combat navigator said, after returning to his air force duties at the F-16 platoon in Hatzor.
Israel, IDF, Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Donor Registry , bone marrow, Schneider Medical Center, Lebanon, Hizbollah
Charity News Online
A Reserve F-16 navigator with the Israeli Air Force has donated a bone marrow to a two year old child living abroad who contracted a violent form of cancer, ISRAEL21c reports. During the beginning days of the current war against Hizbollah, the serviceman whose name is not disclosed was busy with operational sorties when he was called away for a day to fight a more personal battle - for the life of the child. The 32-year-old was found to be a match for a bone marrow transplant desperately needed by the baby. Receiving permission to leave his unit, he rushed to the Schneider Medical Center in Petah Tikva and made a bone marrow donation for her.
A few years ago the man gave a blood sample as part of a special campaign for locating bone marrow donors in the IDF, sponsored by Ezer Mizion, which runs Israel's national bone marrow donor registry. Last year, after Ezer Mizion and the IDF signed the agreement that enabled all new recruits to join the Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Donor Registry as an integral part of the army induction process, Brigadier General Elazar Stern, director of the IDF's Human Resources Department, noted that "In addition to defending Israel's borders, the army, together with Ezer Mizion, can now save lives in another way. "
40,000 IDF recruits join the Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Donor Registry each year, the exact type of donor the registry is looking for, ISRAEL21c has reported. "We are talking about an ideal type of potential bone marrow donor," says Dr. Bracha Zisser, director of the Ezer Mizion registry. "IDF recruits are generally young and healthy, and are able to remain in the registry for decades."
Earlier this year the young man received a call from the organization's chief transplant coordinator who told him that he is the only person in the world that matched a baby with leukemia, whose life is in danger. Over the following weeks, he underwent a series of tests that confirmed that his genetic profile matches that of the sick baby. A date was scheduled for the marrow donation, however, one week prior to the date, as the war in the north began, the navigator was called to his platoon and he took an active part in a number of offensive sorties in Lebanese skies.
When Ezer Mizion called him to confirm his planned arrival as they had previously arranged, the navigator told them that he would be there. "It was clear to me and my commanders that no matter what would happen on the same day - this takes precedence over everything else," the serviceman said. He took a one day break from army duty and reported to the operating room of Schneider, where, under full anesthesia, a liter of bone marrow was extracted from his hip bone, containing the priceless stem cells required to save the life of the sick child.
The stem cell donation was flown abroad that night, where the family was anxiously waiting. The donated stem cells were transfused in the child's blood, with the hope that it will be accepted and will begin generating new and cancer free blood cells in her body. Over the next three weeks, she will be kept in isolation at the medical center abroad where she is being treated. Only then will her doctors be able to determine whether her system has accepted the bone marrow. Dr. Itzhak Yaniv, Head of Pediatric Oncology at Schneider, believes that her chances of recovery are good.
"I am happy that I can give her this gift and I pray for her recovery," the combat navigator said, after returning to his air force duties at the F-16 platoon in Hatzor.
Israel, IDF, Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Donor Registry , bone marrow, Schneider Medical Center, Lebanon, Hizbollah
posted by Lisa Vronskaya at 1:09 PM
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